By 5 Towns Central Staff

NEW YORK, N.Y. (Aug. 28, 2026)

The FAA is taking steps to fire two air traffic controllers who allegedly left their shifts early on the night of the deadly March collision at LaGuardia Airport, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The controllers reportedly clocked out about an hour before their scheduled shifts ended. While leaving early—known among controllers as an “early shove”—can occur amid severe staffing shortages and demanding six-day workweeks, doing so without authorization is considered timecard fraud.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the FAA will hold employees accountable when misconduct puts additional pressure on other controllers or potentially affects air traffic operations.

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association said it is working with FAA leadership regarding the matter.

The March 23 collision between an aircraft and a fire truck killed both pilots, injured dozens of people and forced LaGuardia to shut down for more than 12 hours.

A preliminary NTSB investigation found that one controller was managing both ground and air traffic that night, despite those responsibilities typically being handled separately. Following a similar deadly accident at LaGuardia in 1997, controllers were instructed not to combine the positions before midnight.

However, investigators noted that the other controller working in the tower at the time was dealing with a separate emergency involving another aircraft that had landed with smoke inside the cockpit.

The FAA investigation into the controllers’ conduct comes as questions continue to focus on staffing levels and operational procedures at one of the nation’s busiest airports.