FAA Moves to Fire LaGuardia Controllers After Fatal Air Canada Express Crash

Two LaGuardia controllers left work about an hour early on the night of the March 22, 2026 Air Canada Express crash, and the Federal Aviation Administration is moving to fire them. The collision killed both pilots.

The regional jet struck a fire truck crossing an active runway at LaGuardia Airport at about 11:30 p.m. One controller was handling both ground and air traffic, duties normally divided between two people.

The other controller was managing a separate emergency involving another aircraft with smoke in the cockpit. The staffing arrangement emerged in a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.

The crash also injured dozens of people. Six people were seriously injured, according to one account.

The NTSB has not issued a final probable-cause finding. Its investigation remains active.

The FAA is pursuing dismissal while the crash inquiry continues

The FAA found that the departures were not merely brief early exits. A source familiar with the review said the controllers left “not by ‘just a few minutes’” before their shifts ended.

They left about an hour early. Both are now on leave and are not controlling air traffic.

The agency’s employment action is separate from the NTSB’s crash investigation. Moving to fire the controllers does not establish what caused the runway collision, and the final cause remains unresolved.

The move toward dismissal was reported on August 27, 2026. It places the controllers’ departures under a personnel review while investigators continue examining the crash and the airport’s overnight operations.

The FAA is also reviewing alleged early departures by air-traffic controllers more broadly. The LaGuardia case has become part of that wider examination.

The departures are being examined as an “early shove” practice

Sources familiar with the FAA’s internal review described the conduct as “early shove” timecard fraud. Current and former controllers said the practice is not uncommon in a workforce facing staffing shortages.

Many controllers work six days a week, according to those accounts. The early-departure practice has become an issue in the FAA’s review of whether workers left before the scheduled end of their shifts while their time records reflected otherwise.

The union representing controllers said it was discussing the allegations with the agency.

“NATCA is actively discussing these allegations with FAA leadership.”

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association did not resolve the personnel case through that statement. The two controllers remain away from operational duties while the FAA pursues its action.

The overnight workload described in the preliminary NTSB report adds context to the staffing questions. One controller covered ground and air traffic at the same time, while the other handled an aircraft emergency involving cockpit smoke.

That left two traffic functions with one controller. The second controller was occupied elsewhere.

The wider review reaches back to a post-1997 staffing rule

The staffing questions also revive a procedure adopted after a similar LaGuardia crash in 1997. Controllers were ordered not to combine positions before midnight after that crash.

The rule provides historical context for the preliminary finding that one controller handled both ground and air traffic on March 22. It does not resolve whether the staffing configuration contributed to the later collision.

The fire truck was crossing the active runway when the regional jet struck it. Both pilots died, and people aboard the aircraft suffered injuries, including six serious injuries.

The FAA’s personnel case and the NTSB’s safety inquiry now proceed on different tracks. The broader review of alleged early departures will examine the workplace practice beyond the two LaGuardia controllers.

The NTSB’s final probable-cause finding remains ahead. Until then, the two controllers are on leave, and the FAA’s move toward firing them remains pending.