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'Many questions': National Transportation Safety Board gives update on Air Canada crash at La Guardia
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) held a press conference Monday evening to give an update on its investigation into the Air Canada crash at a New York airport, but the NTSB had little to say about how the deadly collision unfolded.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy spoke at a press conference at LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York City. She opened by remembering those whose loved ones were killed or injured in the accident involving a CRJ-900 plane and a fire truck.
“I want to just take a moment and, on behalf of the entire National Transportation Safety Board, express our deepest condolences to those who lost loved ones in this terrible tragedy,” Homendy said.
The Jazz Aviation flight operated on behalf of Air Canada was carrying 72 passengers and four crew members late Sunday night at the time of the crash. The two pilots were killed and nine people were hospitalized with serious injuries.
“There are a lot of questions, and I understand there are a lot of questions,” Homendy said. “I’ve heard them on air traffic control. I’ve heard questions on the tower. I’ve heard questions on air traffic control communications. I have heard questions on the vehicle. Many questions, and I know that you all have those questions, but I just want to set expectations.”
The crash scene is large and Homendy pledged an exhaustive investigation with “around 25 specialists on site here.”
“There is a tremendous, tremendous amount of debris from taxiway Delta across runway four into some other areas. It’s pretty expansive,” the NTSB chair said.
Homendy said she thought the air traffic controller who approved the emergency response vehicle’s request to drive onto the runway, before desperately telling them to “stop,” was likely near the beginning of an overnight shift, but that information would have to be verified. She said the air traffic controller has likely been removed from duty.
“Certainly it’s pretty traumatic for that air traffic controller, as well. And will want to interview that air traffic controller, as well as others that were in the tower, or maybe not even in the tower,” she said.
Homendy spoke of the extensive evidence collection that’s underway at the airport, but cautioned against rushing to conclusions. She said that she had been asked several times about the staffing and experience of operators in the air traffic control tower, yet there was little she could report at this stage.
“We have a lot of data right now, a lot of information, including information on tower staffing, but the NTSB deals in facts,” Homendy said before opening up to questions. “We don’t speculate. We don’t take one person at their word. We verify that information carefully before we provide it, so that is something we still have to do with that.”
Homendy reiterated that point following the last question from media, underscoring that the NTSB would be moving deliberately to assess the scene and gather evidence. She said the investigation on the runway where the crash took place was “going to be days.”
She also noted that her organization would cooperate with its Canadian equivalent, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, which is “deploying investigators to support” the review.
Homendy said she might have more answers on Tuesday.
Homendy’s update came against the backdrop of a partial government shutdown in the United States, which has placed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) under strain. Wait times for security checks at American airports, including LaGuardia, have stretched to several hours as the shutdown remains in place. It has even prompted President Donald Trump to contemplate redirecting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to deal with the passenger backlog.
As a result of the long lines, Homendy said that bringing the investigatory team together had been challenging. She spoke of one specialist who was stuck for hours before higher-ups intervened.
“We have one, our air traffic control specialist, who was in line with TSA for three hours until we called in Houston to beg to see if we can get her through, so we can get her here. So it’s been a really, really big challenge to get the entire team here,” Homendy said.
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