Are 2 enough? Experts question the number of air traffic controllers during the midnight shift at LaGuardia
Were two air traffic controllers enough?
After the crash between an Air Canada plane and a fire truck on the runway at LaGuardia Airport in New York City.rt last week, cit has been raised whether there are enough air traffic control personnel during the midnight shift.
“If the number of operations … is consistent with a third party, they will have to look at it,” said Margaret Wallace, a.assistant professor of aviation management at the Florida Institute of Technology, where he teaches air traffic control.
“Just waking up at night like that, when your circadian rhythm is off, can be dangerous. It never hurts to have another set of eyes there to help you with those things.”
On Sunday at around 11:37 p.m., an Air Canada regional flight carrying 76 people arrived from Montreal and crashed into an airport fire truck, which was crossing the road to investigate a strange smell reported by another plane. Two pilots died in the accident.
An audio recording from the airport later captured the unnamed controller saying, “I messed up.”
The air traffic controller’s cry of ‘I’m screwed’ after the fatal runway crash at LaGuardia was immediately heard throughout the aviation world. Nationally, CBC’s Lyndsay Duncombe talks to people with decades of experience in the tower to understand how the crisis could affect the industry, which is already struggling with employment.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has for years struggled with a chronic shortage of air traffic controllers, who often put in overtime and work six-day weeks.
After the accident, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told reporters that LaGuardia intends to lease 37 vehicles.ffic controls. Currently, there are 33 air traffic controllers at the airport, seven of whom are being trained.
LaGuardia is “a very well-staffed airport,” Duffy said.
At a news conference earlier this week, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chair Jennifer Homendy said Sunday night, the LaGuardia tower cab was staffed by a local administrator, manages the operational runways and the adjacent airfield surrounding the airport, and is the managing director, responsible for the safety of all operations.
That night, the controller in charge was also performing the duties of a clearance controller, who provides pilots with takeoff clearance, he said.
Having two air traffic controllers for midnight shifts who combine or perform the duties of another controllerlers is a standard operating procedure for LaGuardia and generalization across the national airport, Homendy said.
Howver, he also agreedFor years, air traffic control has been concerned, especially when there is a heavy load. Homendy questioned whether having only two air traffic controllers made sense at LaGuardia given the busy airport, and that the decision would be part of an investigation.
Air traffic control staffing levels are greatly reduced at midnight, which, in general, is sufficient because traffic volumes are so low, said Michael McCormick, coordinator of the air traffic management program at Florida-based Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, in an email to CBC News.
Curfew time at LaGuardia
LaGuardia Airport also has a noise reduction period between midnight and midnight and 6 a.m. It doesn’t mean there are no flights coming, it’s just that traffic is much less.
Investigators say the fatal collision between an Air Canada Express flight and a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport may have been caused by a series of errors rather than a single factor.
It was a busier than usual Sunday night at LaGuardia. Because of the flight delays, the airport saw about 70 departures and arrivals after 10pm – more than double the 31 scheduled, according to data from aviation analytics company Cirium.
No flights took off after 11:09 pm, but flights continued to land every few minutes under foggy, foggy conditions.
“That greatly increased the number of early curfews for tower and ground controllers working overnight,” said Robert Mann, an airline industry analyst.
With the heavy workload that night, Mann asked if there was a “flexible staffing model” to ask some of the staff to stay.
“The question should have been, ‘Well, should I keep the rest of the staff there for 90 minutes?’
“I used to be an air force officer, but if it were me, knowing that I was very busy in what used to be a slack period, I would personally go out and ask people to stick around.”
US National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy says the NTSB will investigate whether the number of people on duty that midnight at New York’s LaGuardia Airport was a factor in Sunday’s crash between an Air Canada Express flight and a fire truck.
Possible confusion of functions
Richard Kennington, a former air traffic controller, said he believed the midnight shift was a distraction and had no impact on the crash.
“We can’t even work for our institutions if we work day shifts,” he said. “How are we going to put more workers into the midnight shift?”
Kennington declined to comment on Homendy, who said it was it is not clear which of the two air traffic controllers that night was performing the duties of the ground controller, who is in charge of all types of aircraft and vehicles on the taxiways.
Kennington said after listening to the tapes of air traffic controllers, there appears to be some confusion about the separation of responsibilities.
“Somewhere in that exchange, we had a communication breakdown,” he said. “How was that exchange between the divisions of labor accomplished? I think that goes a long way in explaining our risk.”
Air Canada Flight 8646 collided with a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport, New York, killing two pilots and injuring dozens of others. Andrew Chang reveals what we know about the crash from air traffic control audio and insights from aviation experts. Photos provided by The Canadian Press, Reuters and Getty Images
Kennington said he also did not believe that fatigue played a role in the accident.
At his news conference, Homendy said fatigue is an ongoing concern for the NTSB as it relates to the midnight shift, because it takes place when people are typically most tired.
But he said there was no indication that fatigue was the cause of the accident.
Back in 2024, an expert scientific panel report on sleep at the FAA recommended 10 to 12 hours of rest before every shift as one way to reduce the risk that fatigued controllers might make mistakes. The panel also said that more rest time may be required before midnight shifts, which does not allow workers to follow normal sleep patterns.
After the report, the FAA said it would give regulators 10 hours between shifts and 12 hours of rest before and after the midnight shift.
