New York (AFP) – Two air traffic controllers left work early ahead of a deadly collision between an Air Canada jet and a fire truck at New York's LaGuardia Airport in March, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

The pair clocked off around an hour before their shift was due to end, the newspaper said citing sources, leaving the control tower short-staffed before the crash that killed two pilots.

Surveillance footage from March 22 captured the moment the plane smashed into the rescue vehicle as it crossed its path, sending both hurtling down the runway.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is moving to fire the two controllers who left, according to The Wall Street Journal, which said LaGuardia was handling over twice its usual traffic when the accident happened.

It added that going home early is called an "early shove" in the aviation industry and is considered an informal perk for staff, sometimes offered after especially taxing shifts.

An FAA spokeswoman said the agency "is committed to holding employees accountable, and we will not compromise the safety or efficiency of the National Airspace System."

Investigators are still probing the accident but a preliminary report in April pointed to communication failures and a lack of proper equipment.

It found one of the most egregious errors occurred when air traffic controllers gave clearance to the fire truck crew to cross the runway while the jet was approaching.

An air traffic controller realized the mistake a few seconds later, telling the fire crew to "stop stop stop." But one of the two occupants of the truck "did not know who that transmission was intended for."

Another factor was the lack of a transponder on the fire engine, which would have automatically alerted air traffic controllers that the aircraft and the truck were on a collision course, according to investigators.

The crash was LaGuardia's first fatal accident since 1992.

Deadly air crashes in the United States in recent years include a collision between a passenger jet and an army helicopter near Washington in January 2025 that killed 67 people.