FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. \u2014 New questions have risen since last month\u2019s deadly crash at New York\u2019s LaGuardia Airport.<\/p>\n
Two pilots were killed in a crash between a plane and a fire truck on the runway.<\/p>\n
Officials have since revealed that the fire truck did not have a crucial tracking device, a transponder, that is standard for vehicles at many airports. <\/p>\n
At Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, more than 30 million people take off and land annually. <\/p>\n
Supported by airport data, tracking transponders at both FLL and Miami International Airport are essential for safety. <\/p>\n
Local 10\u2019 Jeff Derderian caught up with FLL\u2019s Chief Operating Officer to learn more about how they work. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf it detects an object close to or near especially the runway environment, it alarms,\u201d said FLL COO Mike Nonnemacher. \u201cIt lets the air traffic controller know there\u2019s a potential conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are busy areas of an airport that travelers may never see, but Local 10 was given access to the movement areas of FLL. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s a constant ballet of speed, timing and trust. <\/p>\n
FLL has six fire trucks equipped with transponders onboard, tracking planes second-by second. <\/p>\n
There are 26 operational vehicles that are a part of that system that go out to check runways, and another 21 maintenance vehicles. <\/p>\n
That\u2019s because on the ground, the work never stops.<\/p>\n
Lightbulbs, pavement, signs, small fixes in a very big system. <\/p>\n
And backing it all up is another set of eyes, an airport surface detection radar that is silently, constantly searching relentlessly.<\/p>\n
According to the FAA, the installation of transponders was guidance but not mandatory. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe FAA is actively encouraging airports to voluntarily equip vehicles with VMATS,\u201d the FAA said in a statement to Local 10. <\/p>\n
Similarly to FLL, Miami International Airport also has a surface detection system. <\/p>\n
By the numbers, MIA has 51 vehicles with transponders that handle ramp access, wildlife control, electrical work, pavement issues and more. <\/p>\n
As for fire and emergency vehicles, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue has nine emergency response vehicles at MIA, but without transponders. <\/p>\n
Local 10 has been told that transponders have recently been ordered; MDFR and the Miami-Dade Aviation Department are working together to get it done. <\/p>\n
\ud83c\udfe0 News From Your Neighborhood<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. \u2014 New questions have risen since last month\u2019s deadly crash at New York\u2019s LaGuardia Airport.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":239818,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-239817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239817"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239817\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}