The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has equipped rescue and firefighting vehicles at the region’s three major airports with transponders following a fatal collision at LaGuardia Airport earlier this year. The devices, which were activated at LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy International Airport on Monday morning, are designed to improve airfield safety by enabling air traffic controllers to track emergency vehicles in real time when they are on runways, taxiways, or other parts of the active airfield.
The move comes after a March 22 crash in which an Air Canada Express aircraft collided with a Port Authority Police Department fire truck on one of LaGuardia’s runways, resulting in the deaths of both pilots aboard the plane. The truck had been responding to reports of smoke on a United Airlines aircraft and had received clearance from the control tower to enter the runway. Seconds before the collision, a controller warned the truck to stop, but the vehicle proceeded into the path of the arriving plane.
At the time of the incident, the Port Authority had only begun piloting transponders on rescue vehicles at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, leaving LaGuardia and Kennedy without the technology. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), in a preliminary report issued in April, noted that the absence of transponders prevented the airport’s automatic warning system from adequately tracking the fire truck’s location and identifying the potential conflict with the incoming aircraft.
“Without transponders, the system could not uniquely identify each of the seven responding vehicles or reliably determine their positions, or tracks,” investigators wrote. This limitation hindered the system’s ability to predict and warn of the impending collision.
Following these findings, the Port Authority expedited installation of transponders on rescue and firefighting vehicles across all airports it manages in the metropolitan area, including LaGuardia, Kennedy, Newark Liberty, and Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. The agency initially acquired 34 transponders and has placed orders for approximately 700 more. The total cost of procurement and installation has not been disclosed.
The effort included training for both rescue personnel and air traffic controllers to ensure effective use of the new tracking equipment. With transponders activated, each vehicle is now displayed on control tower radar screens with a unique code, eliminating the previous issue of unidentified blips.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has long recommended that airports equip emergency vehicles with transponders to enhance safety, actively encouraging installations in recent years. The FAA praised the Port Authority for its implementation and encouraged other airports and airlines to follow suit, noting that federal grants are available to assist with installation costs.
In parallel with upgrades to equipment, the FAA is reportedly moving to dismiss two air traffic controllers who left their posts early on the night of the LaGuardia crash, according to individuals familiar with the matter.
As of the end of July, the active airfields at LaGuardia and Kennedy had been fully mapped to support transponder operations, with Newark Liberty having been the first airport to deploy the devices earlier in mid-July. The Port Authority projects equipping about 200 vehicles with transponders at each of its major airports by late 2028.