(WKYT) – A runway at LaGuardia Airport reopened Thursday, days after a deadly crash involving a plane and a fire truck. The plane collided with a fire truck on the runway late Sunday night. The plane’s pilot and co-pilot were killed, and dozens of people were hurt, including a flight attendant who was thrown from the plane while still strapped into her seat.
Investigators say the fire truck involved didn’t have the equipment needed to trigger the runway’s warning system.
Local airport works to get transponders
A transponder is a device that sends radio signals to air traffic control radar systems. They allow controllers to track vehicles’ positions in real-time at airports. The FAA only encourages transponders on ground vehicles.
“Our air traffic control team has long stated that they should have transponders,” said Jennifer Homendy, NTSB chair. “If you’re an air traffic controller, you should be able to see everything that’s on the ground, everything that’s in the immediate airspace, so you can ensure safety.”
Because they’re not required, it’s not uncommon for ground vehicles at airports to not have transponders. Blue Grass Airport’s vehicles don’t have them, but the airport is working toward getting them.
“We are on the list to be a part of that technology in the air traffic control tower,” said Lauren Simmerman, community relations manager at Blue Grass Airport. “Then once that occurs, we would work towards the plan to have transponders in any vehicles, and equipment even, that are on the airfield.”
Simmerman said it’s not something that can happen overnight, and the airport is working with the FAA to make it happen. The airport also has a large fleet of vehicles, contributing to how long the process can take.
“This is technology that the FAA has been working towards,” Simmerman said. “It’s not as though it’s been in existence for 30 years and we just haven’t implemented it. It’s a newer initiative that airports are working towards.”
Even though they don’t have transponders, Simmerman said crews at the airport are able to effectively communicate with one another.
“These transponders are not the only key to insight as far as traffic of vehicles on the airfield,” Simmerman said. “It would just be an added layer of safety. The air traffic control tower is in charge of kind of the oversight of the movement of any vehicles that are on the airfield. That’s controlled via communication on a two-way radio.”
Simmerman said anyone operating equipment or vehicles on the airfield also undergoes thorough and regular training to ensure everyone stays safe.