Overwork is an issue in general, but I don't know that it was the actual issue here.

> In audio from the air traffic control tower at LaGuardia, a staff member can be heard saying: "'Truck One, stop, stop, stop!" in the seconds before the crash.

It sounds to me like either the Cop or the Firefighter (whichever was driving) wasn't listening to ATC and this whole incident was probably completely avoidable.

EDIT: a video of the crash seems to have warning lights that the emergency vehicle ignored.

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storyinmemo 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> Overwork is an issue in general, but I don't know that it was the actual issue here.

One controller working tower duties, ground movement duties, coordinating with other ATC functions off the radio, an active emergency request, and giving clearance amendments all within 2 minutes. It's insane understaffing. On top of it, there was nobody there to take over after the crash. He worked the whole cleanup for the next 30 minutes.

This is an Olympian level elite Air Traffic Controller who was setup to fail.

I've visited towers, center facilities, and have flying (and some instructing) in the San Francisco airspace for 10 years. That kind of failure is systemic way above an individual.

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lotsofpulp 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

The audio I heard seems to show the firetruck asking if the runway is clear to cross, the controller responding in the affirmative, the firetruck confirming the affirmative, and then 7 seconds later, the controller saying STOP STOP STOP.

https://www.instagram.com/reels/DWOQ8UhgoQR/

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hajile 2 hours ago | parent [-]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8Kqg6sokz4

It seems like less than 2 seconds from declaring intent to cross until they are told not to cross.

The runway entrance lights look red to me which is also a huge warning flag.

	▲	deathanatos 3 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		From the description: > Audio is not synced. I think the gaps between transmissions have been trimmed, too; this isn't matching other versions of the ATC audio, such as [VASAviation's][1]. > The runway entrance lights look red to me which is also a huge warning flag. IANA-ATC, but presumably in an emergency, you're permitted to obtain clearance from ATC to enter an active runaway, to get to the emergency. (Which they did, and got, but which ATC later effectively revokes with the command to stop, prior to the accident. Whether ATC should have granted the clearance, well, I'll wait for the NTSB report there.) [1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pbm-QJAAzNY