Audio from ATC.com captures air traffic controllers speaking to the emergency ground responders who were responding to a report of an odor in the cabin of a United Airlines flight.
Sunday night's LaGuardia Airport runway crash left a pilot and co-pilot dead and 41 injured. So far, officials have not said whether air traffic control staffing played a role in collision, but short staffing is an issue that has burdened the FAA for years.
The FAA said Sunday night's staffing at LaGuardia will be a part of the investigation, but they haven't said yet how many controllers were working.'Stop Truck 1, stop'Audio from ATC.com captures air traffic controllers speaking to the emergency ground responders who were responding to a report of an odor in the cabin of a United Airlines flight. Emergency vehicle: 'Truck 1 and company LaGuardia Tower requesting to cross 4 at Delta.' Air traffic controller: 'Truck 1 and company, cross 4 at Delta.' Emergency vehicle: 'Truck 1 and Company crossing 4 at Delta.' Just seconds later, the air traffic controller sends out an urgent message. Air traffic controller: 'Frontier 4195, stop there, please. Stop, stop, stop, Truck 1, stop, stop, stop. Stop Truck 1, stop. Stop Truck 1, stop.' Moments after, the air traffic controller can be heard acknowledging the collision. Air traffic controller: '646, I see you collided with a vehicle there, just hold position. I know you can't move.' After the deadly crash, an air traffic controller spoke with the crew from another flight. Pilot: 'That wasn't good to watch.'Air traffic controller: 'Yeah, I know. I was here. I tried to reach out to my staff, and we were dealing with an emergency earlier, and I messed up.' 'It's all about situational awareness'Retired controllers say staffing tends to drop late at night when there are fewer flights. Regardless of the time of day, the number of controllers in the U.S. has dropped 6% in the last decade, according to a recent federal audit. During that same period, the number of flights relying on the air traffic control system increased 10%.A former NTSB senior air safety investigator told CBS News New York the NTSB will also look into staffing.'It's all about situational awareness, distraction. This is human factors. This is what the board, I think, will be focused on, is what was the controller doing? How much of the workload? Was there fatigue involved since it was a nighttime operation, and these controllers work varying shifts. They work a morning, a mid, and a night, so fatigue will definitely be one of those questions that needs to be answered.'The FAA has struggled to recruit and retain controllers over the year at one of New York's main air traffic control facilities--the New York TRACON.The agency says it has been working to bolster staffing nationwide, and the agency met its 2025 hiring goal by bringing in 2,000 new controllers.
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