Deadly LaGuardia plane collision comes as U.S. air system faces significant stress

Shifting now to the day's other major story, federal investigators are trying to figure

out what led to a collision between a commercial airliner and a fire truck on the runway at a

New York airport last night.

The two pilots of the plane are dead and dozens more are injured.

Officials say LaGuardia Airport will operate at a reduced capacity for some time.

As Stephanie Psy reports, it comes at a moment when the nation's air system is under considerable

stress.

A jet barrels down a rainy runway and crashes into a crossing truck.

The late-night collision wrecked the cockpit and jolted passengers.

We were honestly slipping and landing and all of a sudden boom woke up and shot just didn't

know what to do.

Minutes before midnight, a plane carrying 72 passengers and four crew members collided

with a fire truck on the tarmac of one of New York's busiest airports.

The pilot and co-pilot were killed and dozens of passengers, as well as port authority

officers in the fire truck, suffered injuries.

One of our friends was several days back from us and we walked past him on the way out

because he was trying to find his glasses and his nose was totally broken, bleeding on

his face.

A lot of people smacked their head against the sea in front of them.

The impact was enough to crush the air-canada jets' nose, tilting the plane on its tail.

The fire truck was mangled beyond recognition.

Minutes before the collision, an air traffic controller had cleared the truck to cross the

runway.

An audio recording reveals the moment a controller tries to prevent the crash.

He's then heard frantically redirecting other flights about to land to different runways.

And then later, this conversation is picked up.

He says, I messed up, whether he did or not, investigators with the National Transportation

Safety Board are now on site at LaGuardia to get to the bottom of what happened.

The airport was closed for most of the day.

We will follow their lead on what their investigation requires and they will have the time they

need to make that determination.

The latest runway incursion is raising a alarm among aviation analysts.

The air traffic control system is kind of a shadow of what it should be.

Miles O'Brien is news hours aviation correspondent.

It's way understaffed and as a result, the controllers are working mandatory overtime

as a matter of routine.

There's a lot of stress and fatigue that is built into this system.

And frankly, a lot of heroic efforts on the part of the air traffic controllers to make

the system safe.

But we shouldn't be relying on heroic efforts to make a system safe.

He also says LaGuardia's runways are designed to prevent this kind of crash.

So there are 20 airports give or take in the U.S. that have this technology called runway

status lights.

It basically detects the movement of an aircraft takeoff or landing when the runway should

be cleared except for that aircraft.

And when it detects the presence of the aircraft, if it's working properly, it should have

a red light on the taxiway leading to the front runway.

This system is designed to prevent exactly what we just saw.

And if it failed, it's something that needs to be considered along with the overall problems

with air traffic control.

The latest deadly incident occurs amid turmoil at many of the nation's airports.

A partial government shutdown due to political disputes over immigration enforcement tactics

has led to gridlock for travelers.

The shortage of TSA workers combined with heavy spring break traffic has meant long lines

at airports.

Travelers leaving Atlanta today were advised to arrive four hours early to make their flights.

Oh my god.

This is insane.

I mean, I've never experienced anything like this.

It's crazy.

It's insane.

I mean, I've never seen an airport like this.

In a controversial step, President Trump has directed DHS to deploy federal immigration

and customs enforcement agents at TSA checkpoints.

The ICE officers are fanning out across more than a dozen airports today.

I want to thank ICE because they stepped in so strongly.

They'll be great.

And if that's not enough, I'll bring in the national guard.

Meanwhile, the political stalemate continues.

The lack of a political settlement means air travel may also remain unsettled for millions

of travelers.

For the PBS NewsHour, I'm Stephanie Sy.