US officials are investigating whether a pair of air traffic controllers left work early on the night of a fatal crash between an Air Canada Express plane and a fire truck in New York earlier this year.
The 22MAR incident at La Guardia Airport caused the deaths of the plane's pilot and co-pilot, and put 39 passengers, plus two firefighters in hospital.
News outlets including The New York Times, CBS News, and CNN are reporting that the Federal Aviation Authority is considering disciplinary action against the controllers.
The late-night crash occurred on a La Guardia runway, when Air Canada Express Flight 8646 collided with a fire truck, which was responding to an unrelated incident at the airport.
The National Transportation Safety Board also continues to look into the incident.
It should be noted that a number of reports indicate the two controllers who left early were additional/support staff, not the two working the tower at the time of the collision. AVweb explicitly writes “the disciplinary action does not establish that the controllers’ early departures contributed to the accident.”
