LaGuardia Collision Spotlights Runway Safety System Challenges

Aviation Week
Sean Broderick
24 Mar 2026

A system designed to flag imminent runway incursions at New York's LaGuardia Airport (LGA) did not alert air traffic controllers before the March 22 fatal collision between a fire truck and a regional jet, likely because the truck was not equipped with a transponder that relayed its precise movements, information revealed by NTSB suggests.

LGA’s Airport Surface Detection Equipment, Model X (ASDE-X) ground safety system did not detect the airport rescue and firefighting (ARFF) vehicle’s movement towards Runway 4/22 as an Air Canada Express CRJ-900 touched down on the same runway, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said in a March 24 briefing...

LaGuardia Collision Spotlights Runway Safety System Challenges | Aviation Week Network | 24 Mar 2026