Two Missing From the Tower: LaGuardia Early Exit Draws FAA Firing Push

Two controllers were where there should have been four. That is the staffing gap at the center of a personnel case unfolding five months after a deadly runway collision at LaGuardia Airport, and the Federal Aviation Administration is now moving to fire the two people who left early ²⁴⁵⁸. On a normal night, four controllers would have been on duty in the tower; that night, a government source said, there were two ²⁴. The difference of two may sound small until it is set against what followed on the runway below.

On the night of March 22, 2026, an Air Canada Express jet collided with a Port Authority aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle after landing at LaGuardia, according to multiple outlets citing the crash investigation ²³⁴⁵⁸. Photos show the wreckage on March 23 ²⁵⁷. CNN's photo caption dates the collision to March 23, a minor discrepancy with other reports dating the crash night to March 22 ³⁷. The crash killed two pilots and injured people on the ground, with NBC New York reporting that two Port Authority fire crew members were badly hurt ⁷¹⁰¹¹. No final report assigning probable cause exists yet, and the sources describe the National Transportation Safety Board investigation as ongoing ¹⁰¹¹.

The personnel case emerged in late August. The Associated Press, citing an unnamed source, reported the controllers could be fired for leaving the tower about an hour early ²¹⁰¹¹. ABC News reported that the FAA is looking to fire the controllers, and said the union is discussing allegations the workers clocked out early ⁵. Other outlets, including CNN, CBS New York, Bloomberg, The Toronto Star and NBC New York, also reported the planned dismissals citing unnamed government sources ³⁴⁷⁸⁹. The two controllers were reportedly on leave pending dismissal ⁵¹⁰¹¹. The official cited by AP was not authorized to publicly discuss the matter due to the ongoing National Transportation Safety Board investigation ¹⁰¹¹.

NBC reporting said the two controllers left a full hour before their shift ended and an hour before the crash ⁷. That timing is what turned a staffing detail into a potential firing offense. An earlier NBC report on March 31, 2026, citing a document, found that if the controller involved was performing both air and ground duties, that would be inconsistent with the LaGuardia tower's standard operating procedures ⁶. The reports do not say precisely which positions were left uncovered for that hour, only that the tower was operating at half its normal staffing level of four, with two controllers present ²⁴. CNN credited Pete Muntean and Alexandra Skores for its account, published Aug. 27 and updated Aug. 28 ³. CBS New York attributed its report to a government source ⁴.

The question of permission hangs over the case. Bloomberg, via the National Post, reported that so-called early shoves are a longstanding, informal practice where supervisors give controllers permission to leave early during slow periods, while still giving them full pay ⁹. That description suggests early departures are not unheard of in towers. But no source confirms authorization in this case, nor whether a supervisor authorized either departure ⁹. None of the provided sources state whether the early departures were approved, excused, or purely unilateral, and investigators have not said the departures explain what happened on the runway.

That distinction matters because the personnel case and the crash investigation are separate. None of the provided sources state that staffing caused or contributed to the collision ¹⁰¹¹. The NTSB and FAA investigations remain active, with no final report assigning probable cause ¹⁰¹¹. In other words, the FAA can pursue firings for leaving work early without having determined that the absences caused the deaths below. The reporting to date establishes misconduct allegations, not a causal chain.

What is left is a narrow but serious set of facts: a midnight tower at half strength, an hour-long absence before a fatal collision, and an agency now seeking the maximum personnel penalty on the basis of anonymous sourcing. The union has acknowledged only that it is discussing allegations the workers clocked out early ⁵¹⁰¹¹. Whether the dismissals proceed, whether the NTSB addresses staffing in its eventual findings, and whether any supervisor's role is clarified will determine whether this remains a discipline story or becomes part of the crash story itself.