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General Mar 23, 2026 at 8:59 AM

Pilot, co-pilot killed after Air Canada plane collides with vehicle at New York's LaGuardia Airport | CBC News

Posted by Impressive-House-412

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/air-canada-express-accident-la-guardia-airport-9.7138206
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NoKatyDidnt Mar 23, 2026 +1302
Hearing that the controller said he messed up, and that a pilot from another plane tried to console him is heartbreaking. This poor guy. I also feel terrible for the firefighters who saw this happen, and had to proceed with responding to their call.
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Prestigious_Island_7 Mar 23, 2026 +258
My heart hurts for that poor controller. When you’re doing the job of 3 people instead of 1, it is a “when”, not an “if” you will make a mistake in your career. I tell this to my nursing students all of the time. You just have to hope beyond hope that the mistake you make doesn’t cost lives. The system is not designed to support the working plebs. They will work you until you fail, or break, and then toss you aside. An incredibly avoidable tragedy. I hope that controller has a union and supports to provide them counselling.
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Coffee-FlavoredSweat Mar 24, 2026 +94
It wasn’t just the controller’s fault either. The Runway Status Lights were red. The fire engine shouldn’t have entered the runway, even with clearance to do so, without calling back to the ATC and telling them they were held up by the red light. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjdwXd-hrK8
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Prestigious_Island_7 Mar 24, 2026 +40
Oh it absolutely was not, I agree! There are many contributing factors. Hopefully the investigation finds all of them, clearly identifies the issues, and addresses them. One of those issues is obviously the understaffing of the ATC workforce. People deserve safety. That goes for everyone involved in this scenario.
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paul_h Mar 24, 2026 +4
Nursing in particular and all healthcare in general depending on the criticality of the treatment: I hear there is voiced pressure to perform six 15 procedures in 60 minutes, that’s never repeated in written instruction
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witchofpain Mar 23, 2026 +442
The same FFs that worked with the ones in the crash had to work it. That’s a horrific experience. I’m a nurse and did EMS for 10 years. I had to work my godson when he was two and strangled himself trying to crawl into his parents car while they were all outside hanging Christmas lights. I knew instantly that the call was gonna be him even though I didn’t know their exact house number. I was driving the rig that day. That is something that never leaves you. Fortunately my friend remembered how to do CPR and he was breathing but not responsive when we got there. He recovered fully. I probably never would have recovered if he hadn’t.
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NoKatyDidnt Mar 23, 2026 +114
Oof. A friend of mine who joined the PD responded to a call where his own sister had overdosed. 😞. Another time, the house attached to ours caught fire, and the dispatcher who took my call was my daughter’s half brother’s mom. She had to be so careful, and I knew it was her. She stayed on the line until she knew we were out safe. I always feel terrible for responders in situations like that.
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canadian_maplesyrup Mar 23, 2026 +67
My next door neighbour is a firefighter. The firehall that's a 10 minute walk up the road recently reopened after 18ish months of renovations. We asked if he was going to apply for a transfer to be closer to home. He said "No. Never." I was a bit surprised and asked why. He stated that you never want to work in a location too close to home, because sooner or later you're going to be out on a call for someone you know: your neighbour, your kid's best friend's dad, the elderly couple you wave at every afternoon. It's just too damn risky to work that close to your life. I'd never thought about it, but it makes sense.
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NoKatyDidnt Mar 23, 2026 +11
Wow. It absolutely does.
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Prestigious_Island_7 Mar 23, 2026 +7
Same with police. I’m an emergency nurse, and often wish I could work further from home for that reason
7
witchofpain Mar 23, 2026 +51
Dispatchers are really at risk. I knew a woman who was working the phones and took the call from her father that her mother was in cardiac arrest. She never went back to work after that.
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NoKatyDidnt Mar 23, 2026 +11
Ohhhh man, how awful. My partner used to be a dispatcher, and he had a lot of trouble because of it.
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Complex-Ad7633 Mar 23, 2026 +32
Im pretty sure that ATC is taking responsibility of the firetruck driver misunderstanding instructions.  I dont know anything about the ATC protocol/lingo but just judging by the calm tone of his voice when he tells the firetruck to "stop there please" gives the impression he was given clearance to pass one of the runways but not the active one. Since the firetruck driver would likely be much less experienced in the ATC protocol/language I could see the ATC feeling intially responsible or partially responsible in the situation even if he's not.
32
CalculatedPerversion Mar 23, 2026 +30
It's 100% on ATC having to handle plane and ground traffic. Ground would normally be focused on something like this truck and where to go and ATC specifically on the plane, which would have very likely lead to a different outcome. 
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CannonCone Mar 23, 2026 +3334
We have [known](https://www.npr.org/2025/12/07/nx-s1-5630388/air-traffic-control-is-stressful-this-former-controller-describes-the-reality-of-the-job) about the air traffic control crisis for years - that job is overworked, unable to seek mental [healthcare](https://www.faa.gov/faq/what-medical-conditions-does-faa-consider-disqualifying-0) for fear of losing their job, and not enough people are entering the program as folks retire. Obviously we don’t know exactly what happened here, but we will keep seeing incidents like this until there are major changes made.
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[deleted] Mar 23, 2026 +983
[deleted]
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acousticentropy Mar 23, 2026 +677
A major crash due to flight path errors occurred in Jan 2025, and the world just kind of moved on so fast. Of course the brilliant MAGA officials (that 77M brilliant people voted for)… haven’t stayed committed to the public in a productive manner about aviation safety whatsoever. ______________________________________________ **Notice how no MAGA officials has EVER said anything like what I’ve written below in regard to national tragedy:** “I personally will make an investigation of this tragic event a top priority. I will dedicate a serious amount of time, attention, and resources to assist the public in finding out what happened. We will work AS A TEAM, and in an organized and constructive manner. We will make sure all roles, across transportation modalities, are staffed in a manner that TRULY makes employees most efficient and so they are never over burdened. We will defer to the leading experts in the field in a bipartisan manner. We cannot allow lazziez faire economic principles cause critical failures to our infrastructure that cost lives.” ______________________________________________ I don’t know how many times I have to tell people this: - BILLIONAIRES DO NOT F****** CARE ABOUT YOU - BILLIONAIRES DO NOT F****** CARE ABOUT INFRASTRUCTURE AND SOCIAL STABILITY - BILLIONAIRES DO NOT NEED TO RELY ON PUBLIC AVIATION INFRASTRUCTURE AT ALL. - BILLIONAIRES CAN STILL ZIP AROUND THROUGH THE SKIES IN PRIVATE JETS, WITH PRIVATE LANDING ZONES, ON PRIVATE LAND, WITH A PRIVATE MILITIA AVAILABLE TO PROTECT THEIR PRIVATE PROPERTY. - YOU ARE JUST ANOTHER NODE IN A FINANCIAL SYSTEM THAT IS BUILT TO EXTRACT WEALTH FROM YOU FROM AGE 18 UNTIL AGE 67.
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awh Mar 23, 2026 +192
> BILLIONAIRES DO NOT NEED TO RELY ON PUBLIC AVIATION INFRASTRUCTURE AT ALL. It’s the same Air Traffic Control system that controls little bug-smashers, commercial airliners, and private jets. All (non-military) aviation use the same airways, the same approaches and departures, and the same regulatory systems.
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RolandSnowdust Mar 23, 2026 +121
Not only that, but private jet safety record is considerably and I mean CONSIDERABLY worse than commercial aviation.
121
Zestyclose-Novel1157 Mar 23, 2026 +40
I would even say considerably is generous. I would get on any commercial aircraft, even that specific Boeing 737 variant with the issue in a heartbeat without a second thought and sleep well through turbulence if I’m not nauseous. Private airplanes make me nervous.
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TwoHungryBlackbirdss Mar 23, 2026 +31
Yup. The vast, vast majority of aviation crashes are not commercial flights. It'syour overconfident uncle with a PPL and a Cessna you gotta watch out for
31
The-True-Kehlder Mar 23, 2026 +19
Billionaires can land their planes at any of the much smaller runways that only have a few flights in a day. They don't HAVE TO fly into a hugely active airport with a single ATC on duty, even if they do choose to most often.
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jififfi Mar 23, 2026 +17
I remember realizing that my state and everyone here are just a big resource time for billionaires like they are playing civilization. The influx of hyper scaler data center drives that home even more.
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Hobbito Mar 23, 2026 +80
Holy shit that video is ridiculous, the amount of workload on that controller is insane. Also, the fact that the USA doesn't stagger approaches and relies on pilots to visually fly arrivals into busy major airports is almost criminal, but obviously numbers must take a priority over safety. That was uncomfortably close, if both planes had to go around (unstable approach) they would have crashed into each other...
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heliotrophe Mar 23, 2026 +27
I wondered about this because we'd been seeing so many close calls in the news more often now, but r/aviation seems to downplay the government's role every time one of those posts cross my dash. The explanation being "well things are just posted more publicly nowadays". Like, what's up with the denial??
27
737900ER Mar 23, 2026 +67
One of the big recruitment issues for the job in the US is that you can be assigned to an ATC facility pretty much anywhere in the country after completing training -- you have no idea what you'll get when you sign up. You could get Pasco Tower, Jacksonville Center, or Cleveland TRACON.
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jooes Mar 23, 2026 +61
Yeah I know somebody who did it and they had to uproot their entire family and move across the country. And now they live in a city where they know nobody, his wife is miserable and lonely. It's just awful.  It's a pretty big thing to ask of somebody.
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Jellyfish1331 Mar 23, 2026 +22
Huge ask for shit pay
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MistyMtn421 Mar 23, 2026 +18
Plus age limits, can't remember what the cutoff is though. And maybe that's because of the long days (I know I struggle to pull off 10 hour shifts in my 50s vs when I was in my 30s) so not a bad thing, but it definitely makes it harder to fill the role. Also during the last shut down, anyone who missed work was ridiculed. I wouldn't want some who's sick with fever working when so many lives depend on their accuracy. We have everything so backwards here when CEOs are making millions+ but folks who keep us alive and safe are treated like c*** and paid little for what they're worth.
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FunPast7322 Mar 23, 2026 +48
ATC is an unforgiving job and I could never do it. This guy was working both ground and air on this night, and was dealing with another active emergency at the time when this occurred. One 2 second mistake will haunt him for the rest of his life. Not to mention he will likely now be the center of political theatre and lambasted when many ATC at the busiest airports are put under conditions that are just asking for something to go wrong.
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where-sea-meets-sky Mar 23, 2026 +275
yeah knowing how stressed air travel staff are near constantly validates my fears of flying rip to the pilots and send this atc guy to therapy, its horrific and even worse it was preventable if they just had the support needed
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Prof__Potato Mar 23, 2026 +64
I feel like mental health check ups should be mandatory to ensure everyone is dealing with the pressure well. If not, they deserve a paid LOA and rest. Not firing.
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Mego1989 Mar 23, 2026 +31
The fact that OT is mandatory in that kind of a role is crazy to me.
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Jhey45 Mar 23, 2026 +68
The whole system is completely cooked. Spend 6 months to a year to hopefully get hired after an extensive and thorough hiring process. Get sent to an academy making barely above minimum wage to hopefully pass or you get fired. Get sent to a city randomly and hope you again certify after months if not years of further training or you get fired. Most likely get stuck in said city unless you’re lucky enough to have enough manning to leave. Get micromanaged into the ground by idiots who are shit controllers who left the floor to be management because they have no business actually controlling. All this while working 6 days a week for at best okay pay through it all. Sounds like a great deal.
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Live_Technician1038 Mar 23, 2026 +8
Amen. I saw the writing on the wall and bailed on ATC schooling in college and the idea of an ATC career just in the nick of time.
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masklinn Mar 23, 2026 +61
Also since all the ATC were fired and replaced by Reagan a massive contingent is in the process of retiring, and with the destruction of PATCO the ability of ATC to advocate for themselves is basically gone.
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I_blockkarmafarmers Mar 23, 2026 +10
Uhhh, yeah, true; but ATC in the US are collectively bargained employees represented by NATCA—PATCO's successor. The only controllers that aren't normally represented by a union are contract towers or military controllers.
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Not-Taken-Username Mar 23, 2026 +30
Part of the problem is also the FAA itself rejecting applicants that are capable, willing, and ready to take on the job due to past history. Myself for example, went all the way through the hiring process, passed my drug test, got my tentative offer letter, everything. Last thing I was waiting on was my security clearance. After almost 2 years going through the application process, I was told I was rejected because I disclosed during the process that I used to smoke weed, said that made me "untrustworthy and unwilling to comply with laws and regulations." All that for nothing, rejected and debarred from applying again for 3 years. Same thing happened to a friend of my dad's: his kid applied too and had a dui that I believe was at least 10 years old from when we was much younger. They also brought him right to the end of the application process just to reject him for it.
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Mo_h Mar 23, 2026 +2550
The video clips and photographs are horrifying enough - looking at the cockpit, nose and front area!
2550
CaseoftheSadz Mar 23, 2026 +1609
My husband is a pilot and one of my greatest fears is to find out he’s died while I’m scrolling social media. I feel for their families.
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studyhall109 Mar 23, 2026 +548
One of my friends found out his twin brother was killed in a motorcycle crash on the 11:00 news. He had not been notified even though they lived in the same town.
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Lord_Scribe Mar 23, 2026 +397
There was a paramedic who responded to a call on a severe car crash. The injuries were so severe the victim was unrecognizable. At the end of her shift, the paramedic went home. She was met by police who informed her that her daughter had been in a car crash and that her injuries were “not compatible with life”. The woman had unknowingly worked on her daughter in the car crash and her injuries were so severe she was unrecognizable and she was on life support. She was later taken off life support.
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LemonPuckerFace Mar 23, 2026 +211
I've posted this before, but this sort of happened to a colleague of mine (Firefighter/Paramedic) He showed up at a call for a self inflicted gunshot to the head. He responded to the call but the kid was clearly dead so there wasn't much to do. A quick check for life and then stand around with the body until cleared sort of thing. When he got back to the station, he had a bunch of voicemails from his ex-wife and some officers were waiting for him to let him know his son had killed himself. The kid did it at a friend's house with a shotgun and was unrecognizable. He left work and never came back.
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Iohet Mar 23, 2026 +52
My brother in laws partner showed up to his parents house on an emergency call and his little brother had ODd and died. Pretty damn brutal
52
Cockeyed_Optimist Mar 23, 2026 +88
Sounds like the George episode on Grey's Anatomy. Dude gets hit by a bus and his doc friends can't save him and don't realize it was him.
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Agreeable_Piano_4864 Mar 23, 2026 +37
0...0...7... It's George!
37
ladyboleyn2323 Mar 23, 2026 +27
Even years later, I can *still* hear the panic in Meredith's voice. Still breaks my heart. :(
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Snackkbar Mar 23, 2026 +12
Just reading this is brutal, I couldn't even imagine...
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Impressive-House-412 Mar 23, 2026 +75
my brother is one for Air Canada & he literally was at Jazz flying the CRJ doing that route frequently only a few months ago so it really hits close to home (we discussed it a bit before he went to work today) it’s beyond fucked and was so preventable & it is heartbreaking for so many people including the controller, the families, the crew & passengers :( we need extra humans working in every space
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Dry_Bowler_2837 Mar 23, 2026 +48
I’m amazed at that much damage happened from a collision at 39 km/hr, even with that much weight behind it. This is very sad.
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Cinco1971 Mar 23, 2026 +3357
I feel terrible for their familes and also the family of whoever made a huge mistake here.
3357
MyReddittName Mar 23, 2026 +671
The controller is on audio saying, "I messed up" I feel sorry for the guy as well.
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WinterMedical Mar 23, 2026 +397
Poor guy. And then he gathered himself to manage all the planes lined up in the air.
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EricThirteen Mar 23, 2026 +319
As we all know, they’re all overworked and underpaid.
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bruiser95 Mar 23, 2026 +31
Didn't we hear about mass hiring gaps of ATC like an two or or so years ago? Maybe it was a protest or wage thing but I definitely read something about tragedies lying in wait.
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beer_engineer_42 Mar 23, 2026 +53
ATC is currently facing staffing issues because they can't train enough people fast enough to replace those who are retiring. And the training is *hard*, with a high washout rate, and once you do get in, the hours are dogshit until you have seniority, which can take years, and then the hours still suck, but you get more holidays off, probably. And during a shift, which is most likely understaffed, you're doing intensely high-stress shit for *hours*. Honestly, the fact that there aren't a whole lot more incidents like this says a lot about the high level of competence among ATC staff.
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9bpm9 Mar 23, 2026 +15
Hiring gaps? The ATC is a shell of itself after Reagan fired all of them and disbanded their union in the 80s. It hasn't even come close in 40 years now at having the same staffing and experience as it did in the 80s.
15
aredubya Mar 23, 2026 +115
This is not the heroic statement it seems to be on its face. ATC is so understaffed that a controller who literally just made a fatal mistake is still in charge, without relief. I feel horrible for the controller and all those involved in the accident, but this system is right there with the emergency room, mental health care, major infrastructure repair in that they are publicly chronically underfunded in the name of private profits. Tax sitting wealth, and tax capital gains at higher rates, and we could get right. Instead, we have *gestures wildly* this.
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WhipRealGood Mar 23, 2026 +2618
Looks like the air traffic controller told the vehicle to cross right as the plane as landing. ATC is a job i could never do man, every decision could lead to at least bodily harm of someone.
2618
mina-ami Mar 23, 2026 +585
The part of the article that says he can be heard continuing to do his job clearly in distress is haunting to me. If I make a mistake at my job, dang, let's just fix that, oops! He made a mistake that got people killed, and he just has to keep doing his job or more people die.
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Ok-Emu-8920 Mar 23, 2026 +298
I know - the audio of him telling the frontier flight to return to their gate and that pilot saying that he did his best is so awful. It's crazy to me that someone isn't allowed to to be done for their shift after something like this happens
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lorryguy Mar 23, 2026 +565
He was alone in the tower managing the whole airport…he couldn’t leave until they got him a relief controller. ATC in USA is in crisis
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El-Grande- Mar 23, 2026 +307
What?? There was 1 person at a airport in the largest metropolitan area in the county ??! That’s utter madness
307
flukeytukey Mar 23, 2026 +183
And it's an incredibly hard job to get into and current atcs don't even want to train up new hires. Basically a system crumbling before our eyes.
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bottleglitch Mar 23, 2026 +51
Right? That should be illegal… what if he had a medical event partway through his shift?
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Anamolica Mar 23, 2026 +44
Its America. You aren't allowed to have medical issues at work. Only the lazy get sick or injured. If he had medical issues during his shift they would just fire him. Problem solved. And by no longer having a job he won't have insurance, so no one will have to pay for his health bullshit. Win win. Murkkka.
44
Yuna1989 Mar 23, 2026 +46
Aren’t they all not getting paid because of the partial government shutdown?
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mina-ami Mar 23, 2026 +132
Air traffic controllers are funded by the FAA, the shutdown is only for DHS. So TSA isn't getting paid, ATCs are. But they've been short staffed since the Reagan administration
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hexcraft-nikk Mar 23, 2026 +119
btw this is on purpose. Project 2025 lays out continuing this plan to make service so poor that they are allowed to privatize the industry.
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NAh94 Mar 23, 2026 +40
“Sorry, 2/3’s of your passengers on your flight are not enrolled in our *premium landingpass*. You will not be able to receive ATC services until a majority of passengers are enrolled into the program, note that most benefits are unlocked at higher tiers. Thank you for using Air Traffic Concierge! We know you didn’t have a say in this matter unless you are our shareholders. Go f*** youself!”
40
ottoglass Mar 23, 2026 +36
Yes, I no longer travel through US as it's an absolute crisis. If I have to transit through I'm always so nervous now as these ATC folks are bound to make mistakes after being so under staffed and overworked. It's only going to get worse. Project 2025 is so disgusting and immoral
36
enjoytheshow Mar 23, 2026 +41
They put a ground stop in but you gotta keep working until actively landing planes are taken care of
41
Ok-Emu-8920 Mar 23, 2026 +36
Okay but it's absurd that there isn't enough staffing to have someone else take over immediately when something like this happens
36
OakLegs Mar 23, 2026 +30
Well you know that might lead to an increase in taxes and we just can't have that
30
Discombombulatedfart Mar 23, 2026 +25
There's a reason the suicide rate is so high. I can't even imagine the mental toll they go through daily, let alone right after an accident like that and there's no one to relieve them to even take a 15 min break after to attempt to clear your head.
25
FunPast7322 Mar 23, 2026 +40
It was honestly a shit situation. Its reported he was working both ground and air, and was also dealing with another emergency at the time with a plane having strange smells that was causing sickness for passengers and pilots, and the plane with the emergency was not being responsive. I can't imagine the stress and guilt he will go through, and he will probably face scrutiny to no end by heartless non-empathetic people.
40
skinte1 Mar 23, 2026 +1502
Yes and when he realized his mistake and told the truck to stop [it unfortunatly came across as instructions to an unrelated aircraft he had just given instructions to... ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vokLcNNGCM)
1502
BoolImAGhost Mar 23, 2026 +483
I hope the ATC has a good support system. I can’t imagine the guilt
483
new_math Mar 23, 2026 +689
When Elon was holding a chainsaw on stage and getting cheered for cutting federal employees, contracts, and CBAs via doge it's important the remember that ATC was a part of those cuts as well. ATC was already near a breaking point, then the administration and doge thought it would be a good idea to start laying off more of them. You have the chief HR official for the federal government walking around saying, "We want to put federal employees in trauma, we want them to wake up and feel like the enemy". That includes ATC. So it's easy to say it's ATC's fault but it completely ignores the systemic problems with work load and their inhuman treatment as federal employees in the current administration.
689
[deleted] Mar 23, 2026 +159
That's what I was thinking about immediately.The fact that these people are having to do more with less, and we may never know how much that contributed to this tragedy
159
OakLegs Mar 23, 2026 +35
Switching gears a little but I just had this same conversation about tornadoes in SW Michigan. The local NWS office that had authority over the area didn't warn anyone until 10 minutes after the tornado touched down. Some people had no warning, at least 2 people died, including a 12 year old kid. Was it because of the cuts to NOAA? We can probably never know with certainty. But I don't think that matters. What matters is that these critical programs were cut to the bone and the consequences are written in blood.
35
[deleted] Mar 23, 2026 +12
And what blows my mind is that these were dollars that benefited all Americans. it's gonna take so long to rebuild but we've done it before. We can do it again.
12
bianary Mar 23, 2026 +59
All of it. I don't care if this is something that would have happened otherwise, people are overworked and unsafe in a situation there's zero reason for them to be, and those responsible should get all the blame for mistakes made in that environment.
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This_Organization382 Mar 23, 2026 +64
I wouldn't be surprised to hear Elon or Altman try to pitch "AI ATC" soon, with the top feature being "less therapy costs required when a mistake is made"
64
AmericanPockets Mar 23, 2026 +99
Listening to the audio it sounds like this controller was working combined ground control and local control. One controller working intersecting operations with numerous arrivals, a separate ground emergency going on simultaneously, and controlling vehicle operations. I’m a controller at a much much much slower tower, and even we would not work combined ops with a fraction of the workload this controller had. It is still early to say, we gotta wait for the NTSB report, but it sounds like it is 100% a staffing issue. The system has been broke for years. Decades even.
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Streiger108 Mar 23, 2026 +17
Thanks Reagan
17
Daxx22 Mar 23, 2026 +191
This is just my own speculation but following the ATC situation for years would make me suspect that's a big fat no. If there's one thing that seem wildly apparent, we really really **really** love to shit on people doing absolutely critical jobs (outside of lipservice). Unless you're a cop/cop adjacent of course.
191
Trair Mar 23, 2026 +64
The public loves to blame ATC, but the Aviation industry does not assign blame to any one person. The reviews around this will be system level. Unless the ATC made a completely negligent or malicious call, they will be alright. The problem that led to this is likely systemic, not any one man [Amazing article on this topic, "Why you've never been in a plane crash".](https://asteriskmag.com/issues/05/why-you-ve-never-been-in-a-plane-crash?utm_medium=email&utm_source=pocket_hits&utm_campaign=POCKET_HITS-EN-DAILY-RECS-2024_02_07&sponsored=0&position=6&category=fascinating_stories&scheduled_corpus_item_id=6bf45cc5-16e9-4edf-ae26-d6527a8abe5d&url=https://asteriskmag.com/issues/05/why-you-ve-never-been-in-a-plane-crash)
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microfishy Mar 23, 2026 +48
>Unless the ATC made a completely negligent or malicious call, they will be alright. Professionally perhaps. Personally, I doubt it. I have had jobs that involve life-or-death decisions. It's hard enough when you make the right call and someone dies. When you make the wrong call... Is psychotherapy covered under Medicare?
48
Trair Mar 23, 2026 +15
I’m in one of those jobs right now. Most of them offer an EAP- employee assistance program. 6 free sessions per traumatizing incident is best we got
15
FailingItUp Mar 23, 2026 +35
The Asset Protection & Enforcement class is treated better than the Worker class...
35
Time2Explain Mar 23, 2026 +23
Going forward. I am thinking of lemon poundcakes everytime I hear of crooked cops.
23
PatSajaksDick Mar 23, 2026 +33
No that got doged cause of woke
33
Jubilee1989 Mar 23, 2026 +173
That was a really insightful video, thanks for sharing!
173
mediocre_remnants Mar 23, 2026 +477
I stopped the video as soon as he said "unalived". Edit: Much better video at https://youtu.be/X8guQVvXo3g?si=sKyvuDKZdCh_ITk6 without extra bullshit commentary by a TikTok influencer
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amazingsandwiches Mar 23, 2026 +238
This censorship bullshit is out of control.
238
Saneless Mar 23, 2026 +92
I'm so tired of people censoring normal w*rds
92
ScaryBluejay87 Mar 23, 2026 +41
I came across a series of true crime videos on YouTube that were otherwise pretty well made for just a YouTuber, and mostly about interesting cases, but I simply cannot watch true crime full of bullshit censorship like “unalived” and “graped”. Just unwatchable.
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Saneless Mar 23, 2026 +9
Definitely unwatchable
9
tierciel Mar 23, 2026 +10
My wife tried to show me some video about the need for my therapists for all the mental illness sprouting up nowadays. Very serious subject that i do agree with. I made it maybe 1 minute in before turning it off and saying I can't take anything the person was saying seriously because she kept saying unalive instead of suicide. Words means something and when someone uses immature childish language it takes away from the seriousness of the conversation. Imagine you're on trial and your lawyer while being very knowledgeable spoke in nothing but childish slang.
10
amazingsandwiches Mar 23, 2026 +19
I can't even discuss my super fun sewer slide anymore without people thinking I'm going to off myself. Can't a man have hobbies?
19
Euphoric-Cloud0324 Mar 23, 2026 +20
When I saw the word “n*pples” the other day, it made me want to throw my phone. The word “nipples” is censored now?!
20
SolairXI Mar 23, 2026 +23
Same. Surely there are professional ways to say it if you’re afraid of getting demonetised.
23
Username_Taken_Argh Mar 23, 2026 +33
Like "perished"
33
bros402 Mar 23, 2026 +19
But then you wouldn't sound like a 12 year old.
19
notforpoern Mar 23, 2026 +7
I have half a mind to start a coordinated complaint campaign against all these platforms (Google, Meta, Tiktok) because they're the ones causing all of this and clearly can't be assed to fix the system without external pressure. If creators weren't so scared of tripping the invisible, ever-changing rules of the tech gods, we wouldn't have to translate the BS "unalived" every day. After hearing about the batshit insane hoops they have to jump through even if they're not even monetized, I don't blame them for being extra cautious. It's frustrating as hell but I've seen cases where I'm actively subscribed and watch a creator's every single video, yet sometimes they literally never show up in my feed because the creator was too direct about a "sensitive" topic. In those cases the only way I even know about the video is when I wonder why they haven't posted in a while and go to their page, only to discover their deprioritized videos. And don't even get me started on the creators who have gotten strikes against their account for the dumbest things. There's technically a dispute path, but heck if I've ever seen it work in favor of anyone but the biggest creators. ...And now I'm looking at my rant and realizing that I **might** have some latent anger at big tech and their ability to enshittify everything.
7
MelancholyDick Mar 23, 2026 +22
Ew I hate that too. It almost feels disrespectful to the victims.
22
ASkepticalPotato Mar 23, 2026 +7
Thank you for the better link!
7
theaviationhistorian Mar 23, 2026 +61
NYC-Newark area is one of the most stressful and busiest regions for ATCs around the world. It is a job I do not envy. You can do every decision as trained but one slip up and lives are lost. F***.
61
Stummi Mar 23, 2026 +204
From the article so far we only know that ATC gave some clearance, thats all we know. Maybe ATC gave a wrong clearance, but its also possible that the the truck misunderstood the clearance call (meant for another vehicle, or for another crossing). I would wait for the investigations before jumping to any conclusion here.
204
AJohnnyTruant Mar 23, 2026 +647
I’m an airline pilot, I fly in/out of LGA all the time. I think we should all be clear-eyed about this. There’s a difference between it being his mistake and it being his *fault*. He was working multiple stations, overworked, underpaid. They work 6 day weeks, mandatory overtime, haven’t had an actual raise or meaningful relief on staffing in my 15 years of flying professionally. These people are being worked to the max of what a human can be expected to handle while being expected to be perfect 100% of the time. I’m getting really f****** tired of seeing crews and pax die because the federal government won’t support our controllers.
647
Dry_Win_9985 Mar 23, 2026 +108
don't worry, Trump will replace them with ICE agents.
108
MadFerIt Mar 23, 2026 +38
To some people this might still sound like a joke or over-exaggeration but this is 100% something Trump would be willing to do. He does not care if American citizens die because of his directly controlled agencies (something ICE only became under him) and he will simply blame the democrats for any and all deaths.. Since he still calls him the greatest threat to the US. He's an evil orange p3dophile.
38
613mitch Mar 23, 2026 +377
Theres already tower radio audio available. Tower cleared truck to cross by accident and attempted to rescind clearance right away.
377
Whipitreelgud Mar 23, 2026 +78
https://youtu.be/X8guQVvXo3g?si=sKyvuDKZdCh_ITk6
78
wrainbashed Mar 23, 2026 +197
Followed by an immediate “stop, stop!”
197
iLikeEmMashed Mar 23, 2026 +113
The immediate “stop, stop” was after telling an aircraft to stop. And when he *did* say “stop, stop” he rushed the call sign “truck1”. Proper radio etiquette is to use call signs first so the person you are talking to knows to listen and that they are the ones you are referring to.
113
_supreme Mar 23, 2026 +17
Not immediate though. ATC told the truck to stop 9 seconds after the initial green light.
17
MyReddittName Mar 23, 2026 +45
I wonder if airport first responders have training on how to react to a recalled permission.
45
jalepinocheezit Mar 23, 2026 +106
I mean I can't even begin to think of how many times I've been paying strict attention and uttered a "yeah that's fine' only to realize "No!" It's just in my world there are zero *tons* of anything that go into motion with my 'yeah'. My rescinding has a 1 or 2 second delay allowance. One moment. One wrong "you're good". What a terrible morning.
106
ImAPixiePrincess Mar 23, 2026 +69
It's a tragedy no matter where the fault lies. Everyone involved who is alive will feel guilty, whether they were at fault or not. It's a really sad situation.
69
Cat_Man_Bane Mar 23, 2026 +153
There’s audio of the ATC. He told the truck to cross.
153
ituralde_ Mar 23, 2026 +59
There's a critical mistake proximate to this event but the root cause is a failure of policy.  This is going to keep happening and will get worse as our ATC continues to erode due to under investment.  These people did not need to die; we are not acting on learned lessons and are letting people die avoidably to avoid paying to fix the problem.  
59
ctothel Mar 23, 2026 +182
The article says an air traffic controller cleared the fire truck to cross the tarmac and then frantically tried to stop it. It doesn’t say whether the clearance was given in error to cross an active runway, or if the fire truck misunderstood its clearance. Even if ATC did mess up, the reality is the driver should also have noticed. You can reject a clearance if it’s unsafe – it’s not an order. Edit: another commenter said that the clearance was given in error, and ATC acknowledged the screw up. I haven’t checked the recordings myself. Edit 2: another commenter said that the airport was under IMC – instrument meteorological conditions. If that’s the case, it’s possible that visibility was too limited for the truck to see the aircraft. In these conditions the driver simply has to trust ATC to provide clearance. Ideally they should also have been listening and aware that the aircraft had just landed, but that’s not always practical.
182
shinsmax12 Mar 23, 2026 +186
It's hard to see landing planes at night. Even with lights on. 
186
ahpc82 Mar 23, 2026 +67
It’s also raining in NYC.
67
HoldMyToc Mar 23, 2026 +56
At night with rain and lights on everywhere. Nobody can see shit.
56
DankVectorz Mar 23, 2026 +11
It wasn’t IMC, visibility was over 4 miles. That said, on the ground at night at an airport especially one right near NYC all lights just blend in together.
11
Whipitreelgud Mar 23, 2026 +27
It’s like the truck went to a different channel after receiving the clearance.
27
Ilves7 Mar 23, 2026 +781
Nobody in the truck died? Surprising but lucky for them
781
--________-_-_-- Mar 23, 2026 +265
I wish their condition was also reported on
265
blitzkreig2-king Mar 23, 2026 +346
Four critical.
346
rottenhumanoid Mar 23, 2026 +122
Two officers in the fire truck were among those hospitalized and were in stable condition, Ms. Garcia said. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/03/23/nyregion/laguardia-airport-plane-crash-truck
122
theaviationhistorian Mar 23, 2026 +145
I guess the body of the truck took the hit. And trucks can take impacts better than jets. Just seeing the image of the jet when I found out about it, I knew the pilots were dead on impact. RIP. Eternal blue skies and tailwinds for those two.
145
Caymonki Mar 23, 2026 +118
A guy in the aviation sub linked an airport fire truck stats, weighs more than the plane and larger than a normal fire truck. It’s a behemoth.
118
CoderDevo Mar 23, 2026 +26
It doesn't have to get off the ground.
26
imatumahimatumah Mar 23, 2026 +8
It was a massive ARFF truck, so that probably helped.
8
idk012 Mar 23, 2026 +642
Look at the cockpit, it got destroyed.
642
Impressive-House-412 Mar 23, 2026 +162
non-existent almost
162
Warfrogger Mar 23, 2026 +9
Aluminum airframe meets steel truck full of firefighting foam (density similar to water when in tanks). Moment of inertia to move that thing is large and the plane will crumple a lot first before it overcomes it.
9
Reachforthesky777 Mar 23, 2026 +181
ATC is one of the most demanding jobs. Highest suicide rate, terrible working conditions, extreme degrees of responsibility. They used to say that in ATC, you're responsible for more lives in a shift than a surgeon is during their entire career but even that sort of hyperbole doesn't adequately distill the true degree of responsibility ATC shoulders, the absolute dependence people in their care have over them, and how absolutely ignorant the general public is regarding ATC.
181
notthemamaa Mar 23, 2026 +613
Jebus, that audio says it all. Horrific. Someone get that ATC a counselor now. He's not going to be ok, ever.
613
Crafty-Bag-3268 Mar 23, 2026 +1064
Supposedly that guy is a beast at LGA and is known to be a fantastic ATC agent. No matter who gets blamed, I will still put my anger towards the politicians that are voting against the interest of the FAA. Overworked, underpaid, understaffed. They will work a hard 20+ years to be judged on 30 seconds of their career.
1064
FlyingRed Mar 23, 2026 +128
Honestly one of the better guys that worked us helicopters around the NYC area. He was always on it. He messed up, but in the wealthiest country in the world he should never be working ground and tower at a major US airport.
128
Warfrogger Mar 23, 2026 +17
Honestly why I could never work a job like that. One mistake not caught fast enough can lead to catastrophic results.
17
fireandlifeincarnate Mar 23, 2026 +182
The NTSB is pretty great with pointing at systemic issues rather than blaming individuals.
182
bdjohns1 Mar 23, 2026 +59
Someone farther up in the thread just posted a great article on exactly this topic. Worth a read. https://asteriskmag.com/issues/05/why-you-ve-never-been-in-a-plane-crash
59
[deleted] Mar 23, 2026 +58
[deleted]
58
whatproblems Mar 23, 2026 +29
wild how much relies on one guys competence every second considering how much safety and redundancy is setup everywhere else in flight.
29
Ambitious-Bee-7067 Mar 23, 2026 +282
I have worked with that guy for decades. He has given me thousands of landing clearances into LGA. Pour soul.
282
PiccoloAwkward465 Mar 23, 2026 +41
> They will work a hard 20+ years to be judged on 30 seconds of their career Yeah that's really tough. Even the high dollar mistakes I've made in my job were not that big a deal at the end of the day.
41
oictyvm Mar 23, 2026 +111
I don’t see how you go back to work after  that. Haunting.
111
NoKatyDidnt Mar 23, 2026 +19
Yeah, I can’t imagine. How awful!
19
Complex-Ad7633 Mar 23, 2026 +9
Im pretty sure that ATC is taking responsibility of the firetruck driver misunderstanding instructions.  I dont know anything about the ATC protocol/lingo but just judging by the calm tone of his voice when he tells the firetruck to "stop there please" gives the impression he was given clearance to pass one of the runways but not the active one. Since the firetruck driver would likely be much less experienced in the ATC protocol/language I could see the ATC feeling intially responsible or partially responsible in the situation even if he's not.
9
Solid-Sympathy8569 Mar 23, 2026 +106
Omg the poor air traffic controller :(
106
samsquamchy Mar 23, 2026 +589
One day of Iran war spending could train how many new ATC’s I wonder
589
F9-0021 Mar 23, 2026 +97
Yeah, but military industrial complex CEOs matter more than regular people on planes.
97
Goldenrah Mar 23, 2026 +32
One day of Iran war could also pay the salaries of all the airport workers multiple times over.
32
RLOTRL Mar 23, 2026 +25
This is terrible. I feel bad for everyone involved. ATC have the worst job right now. Overworked and underpaid (like everyone working with public funds). He did the best he could. I feel terrible for the pilots who lost their lives. Flying already gives me stress, now it’s even more so knowing that understaffing is such an issue at every airport. If there is anyone to blame, then I blame the government for allowing this to happen. This is what happens when you Undercut funding. It’s going to get worse.
25
lovely8 Mar 23, 2026 +296
I’m trying to imagine how the crash looked for it to result in this horrific way. My brain can’t fathom such a large object getting demolished by a vehicle much smaller. Rip :(
296
BrandynJR Mar 23, 2026 +352
It’s an airport fire truck, more akin to a tank. Weighs around 60,000LBS
352
ringaroundtherosiez Mar 23, 2026 +66
There’s also the consideration that planes are not built like cars - in that they’re not designed for collisions especially directly to the nose
66
onefst250r Mar 23, 2026 +13
Yeah. Cars have a lot of "stuff" in front of the operator to slow things down. A plane? not so much.
13
NoKatyDidnt Mar 23, 2026 +37
I was in an emergency landing situation where the airport fire crew was waiting at the runway to foam. I was shocked at how big those trucks are.
37
TheArmoredKitten Mar 23, 2026 +43
It's because planes are filled to the brim with things that can't be extinguished via water. If you want ten tons of firefighting foam in the middle of the tarmac, ain't no choice but to carry it there.
43
Stevesd123 Mar 23, 2026 +89
Planes are made from aluminum/composites. Not surprising it crumpled like a soda can.
89
Daxx22 Mar 23, 2026 +12
While I'm sure some consideration goes into the design, there really isn't any practical way to fully design a (commercial) plane for any kind of significant impact unlike a ground vehicle.
12
otherwisepandemonium Mar 23, 2026 +70
The airport fire truck likely weighed more than the weight of the CRJ. They are made of dense steel and have a low center of gravity. Airplanes are basically just hollow aluminum.
70
JiveBomber Mar 23, 2026 +154
Holy shit, so a firetruck is responding to a call and crosses a runway as the air Canada plane is touching down and they collide. These ATC employees need f****** help.
154
theHoundLivessss Mar 23, 2026 +207
Feeling an incredible amount of rage right now. Obviously mistakes and accidents will be a continual part of any form of travel as technical as flying. But, the utter mismanagement of act and airports in America is an absolute policy choice. Fund them better, stop expecting them to work for free, alleviate conditions that make these accidents more likely. Rest in peace to the victims, my deepest sympathies.
207
Bradical22 Mar 23, 2026 +37
Wasn’t there a near collision yesterday at JFK from an Air Canada as well?
37
pizzaand Mar 23, 2026 +22
Yes! With another plane.
22
oddible Mar 23, 2026 +18
Yes and both caused by ambiguity on the controller's part. In that case the controller told the AC jet to continue after the parked plane passed. Then tried to alter the command and said continue after the the landing plane passed but only used the call sign. The AC jet continued after the parked plane passed and crossed right in front of the taxiing landing plane.
18
npete Mar 23, 2026 +37
NBC News NYC is reporting that the Air Traffic Controller responsible for the plane was working two positions. Here's a link: https://www.nbcnewyork.com/queens/live-updates-pilot-co-pilot-killed-plane-truck-laguardia-runway/6479896/?cardId=1:2:6480135 I remember John Oliver talking about the likelihood of this very thing happening last year on Last Week Tonight. Definitely blame Trump not the poor, overworked guy who essentially saves lives every day and will now have to live with this tragedy for the rest of his life. The rest of the thread at that NBC News NYC link is a good read.
37
TauCabalander Mar 23, 2026 +13
Usually air traffic and ground control are two separate people. There is often a third for terminal gates. Well ... back in the prehistoric days.
13
weasle117 Mar 23, 2026 +16
This is why we pay our employees and give them healthy schedules. Accidents are inevitable when deprived of base needs.
16
Every-Abroad-847 Mar 23, 2026 +201
Ugh it sounds like it was air traffic’s fault. And they realized it as soon as they gave the truck the go ahead to cross the runway and then immediately tried to stop the inevitable. It’s just such a high pressure job with people who make calls like this a million times a day. And this time it was the wrong call.
201
totheredditmobile Mar 23, 2026 +314
Not ATCs fault. ATCs mistake, the FAAs fault
314
Every-Abroad-847 Mar 23, 2026 +46
Agreed. I should have been more specific. Just awful all around because ATC sounded devastated.
46
buhbill Mar 23, 2026 +614
Cut more funds till they get it right 
614
arkencode Mar 23, 2026 +299
Beatings will continue until morale improves.
299
38DDs_Please Mar 23, 2026 +15
Listened to the audio this morning! That traffic controller was dealing with WAY too much shit at that moment!
15
Ziodyne967 Mar 23, 2026 +180
Anyways, another billion dollars into a war no one asked for. —> American Gov.
180
mmikke Mar 23, 2026 +37
*200B, if Hegseths "request" is granted
37
uberiffic Mar 23, 2026 +37
Are we great again yet, guys?
37
ComprehensiveCrab263 Mar 23, 2026 +76
Does anyone know if they released the pilots names? My friend is an AC pilot and I can’t get ahold of him. He usually flies western routes, but I know he’s done a few New York routes too. UPDATE: he’s okay! He responded and was in a different time zone.
76
GreyJ5595 Mar 23, 2026 +24
AC set up a number to call to get info on pass passengers. They might be able to tell you about your friend 1-800-961-7099 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/air-canada-laguardia-collision-live-updates-rcna264682/rcrd105423?canonicalCard=true
24
Hospital-flip Mar 23, 2026 +15
I hope you get a hold of your friend.
15
hero_killer Mar 23, 2026 +45
Trump's America y'all. Remember when he decided to not pay air traffic controllers?
45
aleprud Mar 23, 2026 +377
Doge and Trump caused this.
377
wyvernx02 Mar 23, 2026 +202
DOGE and Trump made things wore, but air traffic controllers have been overworked and underpaid for a long time. The problems go back to Bush in the 00's.
202
dohrk Mar 23, 2026 +102
Reagan in the 80s had an effect too, I believe.
102
Hopeful-Engineering5 Mar 23, 2026 +55
Kind of. When he fired the controllers in 81 it meant that the retirement schedule was not spread out and everyone would be eligible at the same time. That time was around 06, which meant that the FAA would have to start hiring in around 03 to make it work. They didn't, instead they waited till 06 and hired in too few numbers. This trend basically continued until the passage of FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 which requires the FAA to hire the max that the training center can run. Had the Bush administration started in 04 and his and the Obama administration hired 2000 a year vs the 1000 to 1500 they did hire we likely would not be in this mess.
55
dohrk Mar 23, 2026 +8
Thanks for the reply. Nice to learn a bit more.
8
Straightouttaganton Mar 23, 2026 +55
Two Canadians killed because of the absolute awful state of ATC in the USA right now. The USA needs to answer to this. Rest in Peace
55
oldtobes Mar 23, 2026 +7
God, I feel terrible for the air traffic controller
7
cory2979 Mar 23, 2026 +54
My heart hurts for my fellow Canadians
54
wabashcanonball Mar 23, 2026 +45
The whole country is a shit show right now.
45
HeatWaveToTheCrowd Mar 23, 2026 +12
All this messing with the TSA and ATC to 'own the libs', and line their pockets with your tax dollars, while gutting healthcare, education, overall safety, and jacking up the national debt with no end in sight.
12
Prestigious_Island_7 Mar 23, 2026 +12
My heart hurts for that poor controller. When you’re doing the job of 3 people instead of 1, it is a “when”, not an “if” you will make a mistake in your career. I tell this to my nursing students all of the time. You just have to hope beyond hope that the mistake you make doesn’t cost lives. The system is not designed to support the working plebs. They will work you until you fail, or break, and then toss you aside. An incredibly avoidable tragedy. I hope that controller has a union and supports to provide them counselling.
12
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