safety
Two air traffic controllers left work early before LaGuardia crash: report
Summary by The Atlanta Editorial Desk Natalie Dreier, Cox Media Group National Content Desk , as published by WSB-TV (ABC) - News
· August 27, 2026
· 1 min read
Photo: WSB-TV (ABC) - News · view original
Story provenance No corrections
Summary created by The Atlanta Editorial Desk — automated, rule-governed Byline on source page Natalie Dreier, Cox Media Group National Content Desk, as published by WSB-TV (ABC) - News Original story Read at the source Source published Aug 27, 2026 Indexed here Aug 27, 2026 AI assistance Automated summary drawn from the source’s own published text Prepublication human review No — editorial rules, flagged-item review, and published samples
Every story comes with a passport. How we work · Corrections log · Publisher’s note
Key points This incident occurred on the night of a crash at LaGuardia Airport involving an Air Canada regional jet and a fire truck. The Federal Aviation Administration is taking steps to fire two air traffic controllers accused of leaving their shifts early.
The Federal Aviation Administration is taking steps to fire two air traffic controllers accused of leaving their shifts early. This incident occurred on the night of a crash at LaGuardia Airport involving an Air Canada regional jet and a fire truck. The controllers allegedly left about an hour before their scheduled end time, leaving only two others in the tower with no backup.
The airport was handling a high workload at the time, with double the normal amount of traffic. The crash resulted in the deaths of two pilots and injured six others. Further details about the incident and investigation are available from sources such as The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.
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WSB-TV (ABC) - News reported and published this story. The Atlanta selected it, summarised the key facts above, and links to the original. We did not report this story and we added no reporting of our own to it.
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As published by WSB-TV (ABC) - News . The Atlanta selects stories from publishers’ feeds, summarises them, and links back to the publisher that reported them. We add no reporting of our own. We attribute every source, link to the original report, and follow a documented editorial standards policy. To understand how stories are selected and reviewed, read our about page .
For the complete original report, visit WSB-TV (ABC) - News . Have a tip or correction? Contact the editor .
Category: safety Published: August 27, 2026 Source: WSB-TV (ABC) - News Reading time: 1 min
Frequently asked about this story
What is this story about? The Federal Aviation Administration is taking steps to fire two air traffic controllers accused of leaving their shifts early. This incident occurred on the night of a crash at LaGuardia Airport…
When was this published? This article was first published on August 27, 2026 by WSB-TV (ABC) - News and curated for The Atlanta readers.
Who reported this story? This story was reported by Natalie Dreier, Cox Media Group National Content Desk at WSB-TV (ABC) - News. To learn more about how The Atlanta selects and reviews stories, see our editorial standards .
Where can I find related coverage? See more safety coverage from The Atlanta, or browse our daily briefing and topic hubs .
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