Two air traffic controllers at New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA) face termination after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) determined they left work about an hour early on the night of a runway collision that killed two pilots and injured dozens more.
The controllers left before their shifts ended on March 22, 2026, leaving two other controllers in the tower without additional backup as the airport dealt with unusually heavy traffic, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the findings on August 27.
The FAA has begun the process of terminating the two controllers, Reuters separately reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy described the broader issue in unusually strong terms, saying the government would take action against employees who take advantage of taxpayers and increase the workload on their colleagues.
“We will not tolerate fraud,” Duffy said.
Leaving before the scheduled end of a shift is known among controllers as an “early shove,” according to current and former controllers. FAA officials consider the practice a form of timecard fraud when an employee is paid for time that was not worked.
The Journal reported that managers have historically allowed controllers to leave before their shifts ended in some circumstances, particularly when they otherwise would have spent the remaining time on a break. Current and former FAA officials told the newspaper that the practice is problematic because controllers who are on a break remain available if they are suddenly needed.
The two LaGuardia controllers left on a particularly difficult night for the airport. Thunderstorms and delays had disrupted operations, leaving controllers handling more than twice the traffic volume that had originally been scheduled. Two controllers who remained in the tower were therefore working without the additional backup that would otherwise have been available.
Duffy did not say whether the controllers could face criminal prosecution over the alleged timecard fraud.
The fatal collision occurred at 23:37 local time. Air Canada Express Flight 8646, a CRJ900 operated by Jazz Aviation, was landing on Runway 4 after a flight from Montréal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL) when it collided with an airport fire truck that had been cleared to cross the runway.
The fire truck was responding to a separate aircraft emergency.
The captain and first officer of the CRJ900 were killed. Thirty-nine people were transported to hospitals and six suffered serious injuries, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Investigators previously found that two controllers were working in the tower at the time of the collision and were performing multiple functions. Duties that can be handled by separate ground, clearance delivery and supervisory controllers during busier periods had been combined during the late-night shift.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) said it was discussing allegations involving widespread timecard and leave fraud with FAA leadership. The union also defended the broader controller workforce, pointing to the difficult staffing conditions under which controllers routinely work.
The FAA said it has hired more than 2,000 controllers so far in 2026 as it works to address a nationwide staffing shortage.
The issue of controllers leaving work early has surfaced before. The FAA investigated the practice at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) after a 2021 close call involving a Marine helicopter carrying then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Former FAA officials told the Journal that the agency found the practice was widespread at DCA but did not impose severe discipline at the time, in part because managers had allowed it.
The FAA has taken a much tougher approach since then. More than 10 controllers have faced termination over alleged timecard fraud or abuse of leave policies so far in 2026.
The process of firing a federal air traffic controller can take time and does not guarantee termination. Previous cases have resulted in lesser discipline or been reversed.