A firefighter whose truck collided with an Air Canada jet on a runway at New York's LaGuardia Airport heard an air traffic controller warn “stop, stop, stop” but did not know who it was for, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has said.
In a preliminary report, the NTSB said a crash prevention system did not generate an alert in the control tower, and runway entrance lights that act as stop signals for crossing traffic were on until about three seconds before the collision on 22 March. The system is designed to turn the lights off two or three seconds before a plane reaches an intersection.
The turret operator in the fire truck heard the controller say “Truck 1, stop, stop, stop” and realised he was being told to halt. By that time, the truck was already on the runway as Air Canada Express Flight 8646 from Montreal was landing. The plane, a CRJ900 regional jet with more than 70 people on board, struck the truck. Pilot Antoine Forest, 24, and co-pilot Mackenzie Gunther, 30, were killed; about 40 others were injured.
The fire truck was leading a convoy of six vehicles responding to an emergency involving a strong odour on an outbound United Airlines jet. The tower was busier than usual due to flight delays, with a dozen flights arriving between 11pm and the crash less than 40 minutes later.
Investigators said the advanced surface surveillance system (ASDE-X) intended to prevent runway incursions did not work as intended because the fire truck lacked a transponder and the proximity of multiple vehicles prevented an alarm. According to air traffic control transmissions, the fire crew was cleared to cross the runway just 12 seconds before the plane touched down, followed by frantic “stop” commands.
