LaGuardia Airport resumed operations at 2 p.m. local time as federal officials investigated Sunday night’s fatal crash.
An Air Canada jet from Montreal was carrying more than 70 passengers when it collided with a Port Authority fire truck while landing at the airport, killing the pilot and copilot and injuring several others.
About 20 minutes later, the controller appears to blame himself. “We were dealing with an emergency earlier,” the controller said. “I messed up.”
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is serving as the supporting agency in the NTSB’s investigation.
The identities of the two pilots killed in the crash have not yet been publicly released, although FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford described them during a press conference as “two young men at the start of their careers.”
Investigators are expected to examine the coordination of the airport’s air traffic and ground traffic at the time of the crash, according to Mary Schiavo, a former Department of Transportation Inspector General.
40 passengers and crew members, and two people from the fire truck were taken to hospitals, some with serious injuries. Most were released by Monday morning, according to authorities.
Sunday night’s crash is the first the city has experienced in over three decades, New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani said during a news conference.
"I know that this crash has shaken New Yorkers across the five boroughs, whether they are traveling today or simply watching from home—especially since it's the first fatal crash at LaGuardia in more than 30 years."
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul acknowledged the two pilots who were killed in the disaster.
“Yes, it was an aviation disaster, the likes of which we have not seen here in over three decades,” Hochul said. “But it's a deeply human story: where two young pilots left their homes, expecting to return to their families, and they will not.”
The deadly crash that prompted LaGuardia to shut down happened during an already chaotic time at airports nationwide. The funding impasse due to the partial government shutdown has led to TSA staff shortages and hourslong wait times in security lines.