FAA moves to fire 2 LaGuardia controllers over fatal March collision

The FAA is moving to fire two LaGuardia air traffic controllers who left about an hour early on March 22, the night an Air Canada Express jet collided with a fire truck, killing two pilots.

"We will not tolerate fraud, and we are taking appropriate action to hold folks accountable and prevent unlawful practices from disrupting the traveling public," Sean Duffy, U.S. transportation secretary, said in a statement.

The early departure — known as an "early shove" — left just two controllers in the LaGuardia tower at 11:37 p.m., when the airport was handling more than twice its usual traffic volume after thunderstorms delayed flights throughout the day. The NTSB said 39 people were transported to hospitals, including the two Port Authority workers in the fire truck. The FAA has taken steps this year to terminate more than 10 controllers for alleged timecard fraud or abuse of leave policies, according to people familiar with the matter.

The terminations signal an aggressive enforcement push by the Trump administration on a practice that current and former controllers say managers have long condoned. The FAA has about 11,000 fully certified controllers and 4,000 in training, and has hired more than 2,000 controllers this year — 94 percent of its 2026 hiring goal — as it seeks to address a staffing shortage that has contributed to travel delays.

The collision occurred when Air Canada Express Flight 8646, carrying 72 passengers and four crew from Montreal, landed on a runway that a fire truck had been cleared to cross while responding to an incident elsewhere at the airport. Capt. Antoine Forest and First Officer Mackenzie Gunther were killed. One flight attendant was thrown from the plane and suffered leg fractures.

The NTSB said two controllers were on duty at the time of the crash — one handling two positions while the other coordinated a separate emergency. Investigators said early in their probe that it was unclear whether other controllers had been present elsewhere in the tower, raising questions about whether official records correctly reflected staffing levels that night.

The "early shove" practice

Leaving before a shift officially ends is a longstanding practice in the industry, according to current and former controllers. Managers have at times allowed controllers to leave early rather than spend the final half-hour of a shift in a break room. FAA officials consider the practice a form of timecard fraud because the early departure is not recorded as such.

The issue surfaced publicly in 2021 after a serious close call involving a Marine helicopter carrying then-Vice President Kamala Harris. The FAA determined that controllers at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport had left work early, forcing remaining controllers to juggle more responsibilities than protocol allowed. The agency investigated the practice at Reagan National and found it was widespread but opted against tough discipline, in part because managers had condoned the early shoves.

Staffing and the NTSB probe

Midnight staffing levels at air traffic control facilities have long been a concern of the NTSB, Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said at a March press conference about the accident. "We have to determine who else was in the tower and the facility and available at the time," she said.

The NTSB has not made final conclusions about what role, if any, tower staffing played in the collision. The agency's final report is expected in 12 to 24 months. Aviation accidents often result from a series of failures, and investigators may take a year or more to determine their causes.

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association said it is "actively discussing these allegations with FAA leadership" and believes those discussions are the appropriate forum for addressing the matter. The union declined to comment on specific staffing protocols or whether the FAA planned to discipline the controllers.

The termination process can be lengthy and may result in lighter punishments or reversals, as has happened in some cases this year, according to people familiar with the matter. Both controllers are currently on leave and not responsible for controlling air traffic, a source told CNN.

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