LaGuardia Airport Safety Concerns Raised Before Deadly Runway Collision
Pilot safety concerns about New York’s LaGuardia Airport were filed to aviation officials months before a collision between an Air Canada jet and a Port Authority fire truck left two pilots dead and 41 others hospitalized on Sunday. According to reports submitted to NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS), pilots expressed increasing concerns about air traffic control procedures and runway safety at the busy New York City airport.
Warnings of Close Calls and Controller Pressure
One pilot, writing in the summer of 2025, described a situation where air traffic controllers failed to provide appropriate guidance regarding multiple nearby aircraft, stating, “Please do something.” The pilot noted, “The pace of operations is building in LGA… The controllers are pushing the line.” The pilot expressed concern that LaGuardia’s control tower initiated a takeoff clearance for an aircraft while another plane was only 300 feet high on final approach to a different runway, with the departing plane briefly hesitating before initiating takeoff.
The pilot also referenced the January 2025 mid-air collision over the Potomac River in Washington D.C., stating that LaGuardia, during thunderstorms, was beginning to feel like Ronald Reagan National Airport did before that accident. The pilot added that a runway lighting system had been turned off during the incident.
Additional Safety Reports
Another report, filed since January 2025, detailed an instance where an aircraft was cleared to cross a runway, but the pilot noticed another aircraft seemingly headed for them as if to land on the same runway. The reporting pilot stated that air traffic control “should have sent the aircraft around.”
NASA’s ASRS has received dozens of anonymous pilot complaints regarding safety concerns at LaGuardia Airport. These reports come as investigators examine the collision between an Air Canada Express flight 646 from Montreal and an airport firetruck that had been cleared to cross the runway.
Investigation and Contributing Factors
Following the collision, an air traffic controller attempted to stop the fire truck after clearing it to cross the runway. A recording revealed the controller admitting to “messing up” and stating they had been “dealing with an emergency earlier.”
The crash has sparked fears about the strain on US airport operations. Contributing factors may include a shortage of air traffic controllers, exacerbated by personnel cuts during the previous administration, as well as aging equipment and staffing issues stemming from a partial government shutdown.
Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), stated that investigators are analyzing the airplane’s cockpit and flight data recorders. She also noted that the runway involved is likely to be closed for several days while investigators sift through debris.
Homendy also revealed that an NTSB investigator experienced a three-hour delay due to security lines at a Houston airport, highlighting potential challenges in deploying investigative teams.
Broader Concerns About Airport Safety
Sunday’s incident was not isolated. In October, two Delta jets collided on a taxiway at LaGuardia, resulting in one injury. In July 2024, a co-pilot reported a near-collision when controllers cleared a plane to cross a runway while another aircraft was landing.
Aviation expert Brian Fielkow stated, “We did not need another aviation tragedy to see this coming.” He warned that the investigation will seize time but emphasized the need to address the underlying conditions contributing to these incidents. “We are watching a system under strain,” he added.
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