- Fatal LaGuardia Airport crash highlights concerns in communication between airplanes and ground vehicles at airports.
- Salt Lake City International Airport had 48 runway incursions from 2021 to 2024.
- New FAA technology aims to improve communication and prevent runway collisions in Utah.
SALT LAKE CITY — Communication between airplanes and ground vehicles at airports has come into question as federal agencies continue to investigate the fatal collision between a passenger jet and a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport Sunday night.
A pilot and a copilot of the plane, which was carrying more than 70 passengers after taking off from Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, were killed in the collision. Approximately 40 passengers and crew members of the plane were injured, as were two occupants inside the truck.
An air traffic controller is heard repeatedly telling the driver of a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey fire truck to stop moments before an alert of a collision is sent out, according to air traffic control audio from LiveATC. It occurred just after the driver appeared to have received permission to cross a section of the runway.
"I tried to reach out … we were dealing with an emergency earlier. I messed up," one of the air traffic controllers later says, NBC News reported. Another controller is heard saying, "You did the best you could."
The National Transportation Safety Board investigators arrived at the scene on Monday. Examining the coordination between the airport's air traffic and ground traffic at the time of the crash will be crucial in the investigation, Mary Schiavo, a former U.S. Department of Transportation inspector general, told PBS on Monday.
"I don't know how many wake-up calls the (FAA) needs, but this has been happening for years and, sadly, some of the most horrific air crashes in history happen on the ground at the airport," she told the outlet.
Could it happen at Utah's largest airport?
Salt Lake City International Airport experienced 48 runway incursions between 2021 and 2024, which are when vehicles or people enter active runway zones without clearance, according to Upgraded Points' review of FAA data.
All but one were considered lower-risk incidents, but its total was among the 23rd-highest in the U.S., and the 42nd-highest per 1 million flights among all airport types.
The airline news outlet noted that pilot deviation — "pilots failing to follow air traffic control instructions, misinterpreting taxiway signage or mistakenly entering an active runway" — accounted for nearly two-thirds of all U.S. incidents during that time. Air traffic controller errors accounted for nearly one-fifth of the incidents, as did vehicle or pedestrian deviations.
Salt Lake City International Airport officials declined KSL's request for an interview about its communications practices between planes and ground vehicles, but Nancy Volmer, the airport's spokeswoman, said there are protocols and procedures in place for vehicles operating in taxiways and runways — also referred to as airfield "movement areas." They center around ongoing communications with the Federal Aviation Administration-operated air travel control tower.
All drivers who access these spaces, including first responders such as police and firefighters, are required to complete specific training, she added.
The protocols are outlined in an airport manual, which states that all vehicles must have two-way radio communications with the control tower at all times, or certain signals if two-way radio communications aren't practical. All airport-owned vehicles are required to have an air traffic control tower radio, as well as flashing lights.
New technology could also help reduce future collisions.
Salt Lake City International Airport, Ogden-Hinckley Airport and Provo Municipal Airport were all selected by the FAA last year to receive the runway incursion devices that seek to bolster communication when a runway is occupied. The system was expected to be installed at all three airports by the end of this year.
Salt Lake City was the 22nd busiest airport in the U.S. in 2024, according to FAA data, three spots below LaGuardia. Both airports were named last month as the best in North America among facilities that receive 25 million to 40 million passengers by the Airports Council International's 2025 ASQ Customer Experience Awards.
