By Pete Muntean, Alexandra Skores, CNN
(CNN) — Two LaGuardia Airport air traffic controllers in the control tower left work early the night an Air Canada Express flight collided with an airport fire truck on the runway, according to a source familiar with the investigation into the March 22 crash.
The two pilots of Air Canada Express Flight 8646 were killed when the jet collided with an airport fire truck just after landing. The fire truck had been crossing the taxiway to respond to an incident across the airport. The plane had 72 passengers and four crew members on board for the one-hour flight from Montreal to New York’s LaGuardia, dozens of whom were injured.
The Federal Aviation Administration is now considering disciplinary action against the controllers, the source said, adding that their departure was not by “just a few minutes.” Both FAA controllers are currently on leave, according to the source, and are not currently responsible for controlling air traffic.
The new details were first reported by the Wall Street Journal as the National Transportation Safety Board continues to investigate the crash. The agency’s final report —and a finding of probable cause and contributing factors — is not likely to be published for another six months.
“The FAA is committed to holding employees accountable, and we will not compromise the safety or efficiency of the National Airspace System,” the agency said in a statement.
The union which represents air traffic controllers, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, would not confirm that controllers were being disciplined, but said the union is “actively discussing these allegations with FAA leadership.”
“We believe those discussions are the appropriate forum for addressing the matter,” the union said in a statement.
Both NATCA and the FAA are considered parties to the NTSB investigation, which typically muzzles such organizations from commenting publicly on a crash until a final report has been published. CNN has reached out to the NTSB for comment.
“We will not tolerate fraud, and we are taking appropriate action to hold folks accountable and prevent unlawful practices from disrupting the traveling public,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement. “But when a small percentage of individuals take advantage of the American taxpayer, unfairly add additional work to their fellow controllers, and impact the airspace – we have no choice but to act.”
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