Tower cleared rescue crew to cross runway after red lights lit to warn of conflict.
US investigators have detailed the confusing circumstances in which a firefighting truck entered a New York LaGuardia runway — its crew apparently unaware that it was being ordered to stop —before being struck by a landing regional jet.
reliminary information on the fatal 22 March collision reveals that red taxiway lights had illuminated, warning of the approaching aircraft, but that the truck’s crew was nevertheless given subsequent permission to cross the runway.
The firefighting truck, designated Rescue 35 with the callsign ‘Truck 1’, was one of seven vehicles responding to an emergency on one of the airport’s aprons.
Air traffic control had cleared the regional jet, an Air Canada Express MHIRJ CRJ900, to land on runway 4 about 20s before the vehicles left the fire station area.
The vehicles travelled along taxiway D before gathering at a point some 500ft before the taxiway’s intersection with runway 4.
Truck 1’s crew was asked to contact the tower by another crew, in Truck 7, who had been unsuccessful.
When the tower controller replied, they asked which vehicle needed to cross a runway, and Truck 1 moved to the front of the group.
The aircraft, at this point, was 1.5nm from the intersection and descending through 400ft.
LaGuardia is equipped with runway status lights, intended to warn pilots and vehicles of potential conflict.
The system includes runway entrance lights which are normally off, but which illuminate the taxiway centreline in red when a landing or departing aircraft is approaching the intersection.
These lights also extinguish automatically about 2-3s before the aircraft actually passes through.
Owing to the CRJ’s approach, these entrance lights on taxiway D lit up a few seconds after Truck 1 moved to the lead vehicle position.
Surveillance video reveals that, at the moment the lights illuminated, the vehicles were stationary with Truck 1 about 460ft from the edge of the runway.
Truck 1 then requested — and was granted — permission for the vehicle group to cross runway 4 from taxiway D. Its crew read back the clearance and began moving towards the runway.
But as Truck 1 crossed taxiway AA, about 300ft before the runway edge, the tower controller ordered it to stop.
However, the truck’s speed “continued to increase”, says the National Transportation Safety Board.
Truck 1’s turret operator testified to the inquiry that he recalled hearing the words “stop, stop, stop” over the tower frequency, but did not know for whom the transmission was intended.
The safety board says no recordings are available of the communications between vehicles in the group.
As the CRJ touched down — about 1,450ft from the intersection — Truck 1 had crossed the hold-short line, and was 100ft from the runway when the tower again instructed the vehicle to stop.
The runway entrance lights extinguished almost immediately afterwards, as the aircraft neared the intersection, and Truck 1 entered the runway at 48km/h, turning to the left just before it was hit by the jet.
Recorded flight data indicates the CRJ was travelling at 90kt, and its rudder deflected about 6° to the left just prior to the collision. The impact with Truck 1 destroyed the cockpit and fatally injured both pilots. Another 37 of the jet’s occupants were injured.
While Truck 1 was substantially damaged — releasing all the water and foam stored on board — the operator cab was largely unscathed and both crew members survived.
The post Fire truck failed to heed ‘stop’ order before fatal LaGuardia CRJ collision first appeared on FlightGlobal.