FAA investigating if controller was distracted when Air Canada plane crashed — reports

The FAA is probing whether a United Airlines flight issue distracted an air traffic controller during a deadly runway accident at LaGuardia Airport, which killed two pilots and injured dozens while disrupting hundreds of flights.

Akanksha Khushi/Reuters

24 March 2026 at 03:47:59

FAA investigating if controller was distracted when Air Canada plane crashed — reports

A United Airlines aircraft taxis next to the wreckage of an Air Canada Express jet that collided with a fire truck at New York's LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York, U.S., March 23, 2026.

Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating whether a problem with a United Airlines UAL.O flight distracted an air traffic controller in the LaGuardia Airport tower at a critical juncture, the New York Times reported on Monday, citing a person briefed on the matter.

Two pilots died in a runway accident late on Sunday shutting New York's LaGuardia Airport. The crash between an Air Canada Express AC.TO jet and a fire truck injured dozens of passengers and led to hundreds of flight cancellations.

-Akanksha Khushi/Reuters