From Fox News: Federal officials revealed a chain of events behind the plane crash at LaGuardia airport, saying an Air Canada CRJ-900 struck a fire truck that had been deployed after a separate rejected takeoff.
The collision, which occurred around 11:45 p.m., left both pilots dead and sent dozens of passengers and first responders to the hospital, as investigators work to determine how the aircraft and emergency vehicle ended up on the same runway at LaGuardia airport.
Federal Aviation Administration Administrator (FAA) Bryan Bedford said the emergency vehicle had been deployed in response to a separate United Airlines rejected takeoff before the crash at LaGuardia.
Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said approximately 72 passengers and four crew members were on board the Air Canada flight when the plane crash at LaGuardia airport occurred, with many later released from hospitals following treatment.
During a press briefing Monday afternoon, Duffy was asked how many air traffic controllers were working in the tower at LaGuardia on Sunday night.
Duffy said he had heard the rumors that only one air traffic controller was on duty, and said that was “not accurate.”
However, he stated, “We have a very good relationship with the NTSB. We have information. We don’t put that information out. We allow the NTSB to gather the information, double, triple check it, and it goes into their report. So I’m not going to give the data on that. That will be for the NTSB at the appropriate time.”
“This airport has a target of 37 controllers at LaGuardia. We have 33 controllers, employed, certified at LaGuardia, and we have six — actually seven — that are in training. So as our airports go, LaGuardia is a very well staffed airport,” Duffy confirmed.
Duffy: I’ve heard the rumor that there was only one controller in the tower and that is not accurate pic.twitter.com/z7K7E1ujXj
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 23, 2026
Since taking over the Department of Transportation, Duffy said he has more air traffic controllers going through the training academy, but noted that it takes about one year to complete the program.
To bridge the gap, he said he has offered bonuses to air traffic controllers who were about to retire, asking them to stay on the job until the new trainees are ready to go to work.
Transportation Sec. Sean Duffy says his department has been working to put more air traffic controllers through training in order to address staffing concerns at airports across the nation. He also said he has offered bonuses to controllers at retirement age as incentive to stay… pic.twitter.com/glRhMG4Hnu
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 23, 2026
The full press conference is in the video below:
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