QUEENS, New York (WABC) — Investigators of the deadly plane collision at LaGuardia on March 22 are looking into multiple issues, including air traffic staffing and duties. An NTSB report from 1997 shows controllers may have violated long-time procedures.<\/p>\n
The NTSB said two controllers were in the tower the night of the collision, and they were dealing with multiple issues.<\/p>\n
The NTSB is investigating to find out if the same controller gave permission for the pilots to land the plane at LGA and whether that same controller later gave the fire truck permission to cross the same runway.<\/p>\n
Aviation experts say that at least one controller typically directs ground traffic and another directs arrivals and departures.<\/p>\n
As Eyewitness News first reported last week, the former VP of the FAA said, according to audio recordings, it sounded like the same person.<\/p>\n
“What we’ve heard from that control tape is it’s the same voice that is clearing the aircraft to land and clearing the vehicles across the runway,” said Michael McCormick, former VP of the FAA.<\/p>\n
When a similar type of crash happened at the same airport back in 1997, the NTSB found that one control was directing both ground and air traffic. An NTSB report said, “all positions at the LaGuardia control tower were combined at the local control position with one controller making all radio communications.”<\/p>\n
That same report ordered controllers at the airport not to combine positions before midnight. The crash this month took place at about 11:37 p.m.<\/p>\n
To complicate matters, the controllers in the tower were dealing with a separate issue at the time of the collision. There was a report of smoke and an odor in the cabin of a different plane that landed. The fire truck was trying to cross the runway to get to that plane when the collision happened.<\/p>\n
The NTSB says it’s looking at multiple issues, including the Port Authority truck not being equipped with a transponder, which would’ve triggered a warning system.<\/p>\n
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