Minutes after the Air Canada CRJ-900 collided with a fire truck on Runway 4 at LaGuardia Airport last night, killing both pilots, the air traffic controller's voice was captured on LiveATC audio. "That wasn't good to watch," a voice is heard saying on the frequency. The controller replies: "Yeah, I know. I was here. I tried to reach out. We were dealing with an emergency earlier. I messed up." The other voice responds: "Nah man, you did the best you could," according to Newsweek and CBC News. The controller had been working alone, handling both ground and tower operations. A United Airlines flight had aborted takeoff due to a warning light and a cabin odor that sickened the flight attendants. The controller cleared a fire truck to cross Runway 4 to reach the United plane. Seconds later, he realized Air Canada Flight 8646 was still rolling down the same runway after landing, according to CNN. "Stop, stop, stop, Truck 1, stop!" he shouted. It was too late. After the collision, the controller ordered an approaching Delta flight to go around, closed the runway, and called in additional emergency vehicles. According to aviation insider JonNYC, he then continued working alone for over an hour after the crash, guiding remaining planes back to their gates because there was no one to relieve him until morning.
