A runway warning system failed to send an alarm before a fatal crash between an Air Canada plane and a fire truck in New York, according to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board.
It was Sunday around 11:30 p.m. when the plane carrying 72 passengers slammed into the truck at LaGuardia airport, killing two pilots.
The fire truck was responding to an odor on another plane.
In a press conference, Tuesday, the head of the Board Jennifer Homandy told reporters the fire truck didn’t have a transponder that is needed to have the system work correctly.
“ASDX did not generate an alert due to the close proximity of vehicles merging and unmerging near the runway resulting in the inability to create a track of high confidence,” said Homandy.
“Now, I saw the replay,” added Homandy. “What it looks like on a replay are two blobs on taxiway Delta. We also don’t see any of them go in front of the runway.”
She added that there is no indication of transponders on any of the trucks at LaGuardia but trucks at other airports in the United States, Homandy said, do have them.
She said the runway status lights were functioning.
Some details still remain unclear, including whether or not the air traffic controllers were distracted as they dealt with another emergency.
“I would caution pointing fingers at controllers and saying distraction was involved,” said Homandy.
According to audio posted to Live ATC.net, air traffic control workers can be heard over the radio, telling the ground vehicle to stop, as well as one employee saying, “I messed up.”
Officials are continuing to investigate.
