Plots warned of LaGuardia safety risks months before deadly runway crash
‘Please do something’: Pilots begged for action before LaGuardia crash that killed two
March 25, 2026
Pilots repeatedly raised alarms about the dangerous conditions at New York’s LaGuardia Airport in the months and years leading up to Sunday’s mishap that took the lives of two pilots and injured 41 people.
According to the anonymous reports submitted to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s Aviation Safety Reporting System, pilots repeatedly cautioned about near-miss incidents, overwhelmed air traffic controllers, and insufficient safety protocols at one of the nation’s busiest airports.
It is reported that last summer, one pilot wrote: “Please do something,” highlighting the adverse conditions of how controllers failed to provide proper guidance amid heavy traffic.
“The pace of operations is building in LGA. The controllers are pushing the line,” the report cited the pilot’s statement.
“On thunderstorm days, LGA is starting to feel like DCA did before the accident there,” the pilot compared, referring to the January 2025 midair collision over the Potomac River that killed 67 people.
The warnings turned out to be prophetic. At around 11:40 p.m. on March 22, an Air Canada Express plane from Montreal collided with a Port Authority fire truck that was given clearance to cross the runway.
The collision killed the pilots, MacKenzie Gunther and Antoine Forest, and sent dozens to the hospital. Audio from air traffic control shows the controller saying “I messed up” after giving clearance to the fire truck and then trying to stop it.
Other NASA reports documented close calls dating back to 2024. In one, a pilot nearly collided with another aircraft after being cleared to cross a runway.
In another form, in July 2024, “ground control issued a stop command just in time” to prevent a collision.
Following the crash, scrutiny of strained U.S. infrastructure has increased, including air traffic controller shortages worsened by federal personnel cuts and a partial government shutdown that has left TSA officers working without pay.
