LaGuardia plane crash: Runway reopens after mangled aircraft, truck removed

The injured Port Authority officers involved in the crash were identified Monday as Sgt. Michael Orsillo and Officer Adrian Baez.

Baez was released on Monday and Orsillo will spend the night in the hospital.

"This could have been an even broader tragedy if everyone had not responded as quickly and effectively as they did," said Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia.

The last accident with a fatality was 34 years to the date of Sunday night's crash

"Yes it was an aviation disaster the likes of which we have not seen here in three decades," said Gov. Kathy Hochul.

The pilots who died in the crash were "young men at the start of their careers," Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Bryan Bedford said Monday afternoon.

"I want to extend my sympathies for the families of the two pilots," he said. "These were two young men at the start of their career, so it's an absolute tragedy that we're sitting here with their loss."

Bedford said there was four-mile visibility the night of the crash, which is more than enough for a visual approach.

The last accident with a fatality was 34 years to the date of Sunday night's crash.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and Federal Aviation Administrator Bryan Bedford joined Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani to give an update on the deadly crash at LaGuardia on Monday afternoon.

Runway 4 at LaGuardia Airport will remain closed until 7 a.m. Friday after the collision between an Air Canada plane and a fire truck, according to a public notice from the FAA.

N.J. Burkett has the latest on the NTSB investigation.

LaGuardia Airport has 33 of the target goal of 37 air traffic controllers, Duffy said, and seven more in training.

"So as our airports go, LaGuardia is a very well-staffed airport, we are a couple controllers short in total, but it a well-staffed airport, 33 certified controllers that operate out of the tower here at LaGuardia," Duffy said.

He declined to reveal the staffing in the control tower Sunday night, but said a "rumor that there was one controller in the tower was not accurate."

"It's troubling we had an aircraft hit a fire truck, that's troubling, full stop," he said.

It's too early to say what factors contributed to the deadly mishap, but the crash underscores the challenges air traffic controllers have faced in recent years.

Air traffic controllers are not directly affected by the current shutdown, but they are considered essential workers and have been forced to work their stressful jobs without pay during prior shutdowns.

The partial shutdown has lasted more than a month and has caused long lines and frustration among travelers at airports across the country.

Hundreds of Transportation Security Administration agents have called in sick or quit their jobs rather than be forced to work without pay.

President Donald Trump, in response, deployed immigration enforcement officers to supplement TSA agents on Monday.

Congress remains deadlocked over approving funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the TSA.