890 Airport Surface Detection Equipment

More on the Laguardia crash from the NTSB and ASDE-X; a near-collision at LAX involving a Frontier flight and two trucks; a United Airlines plane struck two de-icing trucks; the FAA requested funding for 2,300 controller trainees; a Navy MQ-4C Triton reconnaissance drone went missing; and air taxis are coming to Utah.

Aviation News

Seconds before LaGuardia crash, controller cleared the fire truck to cross the runway, NTSB says

The NTSB has determined that a LaGuardia Airport air traffic controller cleared the fire truck to cross a runway 12 seconds before the Air Canada flight touched down. The two pilots were killed in the resulting collision. The NTSB has yet to identify how this was allowed to happen.

Unanswered questions:

• Are two overnight duty controllers enough?
• Why didn’t a runway warning system sound an alert?
• Who was coordinating air and ground traffic?
• Did the fire truck hear the controller’s last-second pleas to stop?

LaGuardia has an advanced surface surveillance system called Airport Surface Detection Equipment, Model X (ASDE-X). This system displays the locations of planes and vehicles to the Controllers. The fire truck didn’t have a transponder, but the emergency vehicles behind it stopped in time. Possibly, the close proximity of the vehicles merging kept the system from triggering an alarm.

ASDE-X is a surveillance system that uses radar, multilateration, and satellite technology to allow air traffic controllers to track the surface movement of aircraft and vehicles. It was developed to help reduce critical Category A and B runway incursions.

ASDE-X overview from FAA presentation.

The ASDE-X collects data from a variety of sensors:

• Surface surveillance radar located on top of the air traffic control tower and/or surface surveillance radar located on a remote tower
• Multilateration (MLat) sensors located around the airport
• Airport Surveillance Radars, such as the Mode S
• Automatic Dependent Surveillance — Broadcast (ADS-B) sensors
• Terminal automation system to obtain flight plan data.

Multilateration (MLat) sensors determine an object’s position by measuring the time differences of signals received from multiple known locations. They are commonly used in applications such as air traffic control and navigation to accurately track the locations of vehicles or devices.

Frontier Airlines Pilots ‘Slam On the Brakes’ to Avoid Colliding With Two Trucks at Los Angeles International Airport

Frontier Airlines flight F9-3216, an Airbus A321, was taxiing for departure at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) when it encountered two trucks that cut it off. To avoid a collision, the pilots were forced to “slam on the brakes.”

The Frontier pilot told LAX controllers, “It happened so fast, both of us are like holy shit and slammed on the brakes… I might have to call the flight attendants, make sure everyone is alright in the back. It was real close… close as I’ve ever seen.”

Plane suffered ‘substantial’ damage after hitting de-icing trucks at Denver airport

On March 6, 2026, a United Airlines plane struck two de-icing trucks at Denver International Airport (DIA) as it was taxiing out of the de-icing pad. No on-board injuries occurred, although one de-icing agent suffered minor injuries. The plane suffered substantial damage. There was some confusion about whether the plane had been cleared to leave the de-icing pad.

FAA proposes to hire 2,300 air traffic controllers in budget request

At the end of September, the FAA employed 13,164 air traffic controllers, about 3,500 short of the targeted staffing level. The FAA’s fiscal 2027 budget request proposes funding to hire 2,300 air traffic controller trainees, with about $95.4 million earmarked for that effort. A WSOC Charlotte, SC video reports that gamers are being offered paid training and other incentives if they apply.

Navy MQ-4C Triton’s Fate Unknown After Disappearing From Flight Tracking Over Persian Gulf

Open-source tracking indicates the surveillance drone suddenly turned toward Iran and transmitted the universal 7700 emergency code. It descended from more than 50,000 feet toward approximately 9,000 feet, then disappeared from public tracking networks.

The Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton is the maritime version of RQ-4 Global Hawk. It is a high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) unmanned surveillance aircraft flown by the United States Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Navy had 20 Triton aircraft in service in 2025, and had planned to acquire seven more. The unit cost was estimated to be just over $238 million.

See: US Navy MQ-4C Triton Vanishes Near Iran After Emergency Code: Did Tehran Just Down America’s US$200 Million Spy Drone?

Utah’s getting air taxis sooner than expected. Here’s when.

Paul Damron, the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) air mobility program manager, says unmanned electric aircraft might be carrying packages and medical supplies as early as this summer. The FAA has designated UDOT to lead one of eight national pilot programs focused on integrating electric aircraft into various airspaces.

Initially operating out of Utah’s airports, the long-term goal is to create “vertiports” and connect them to existing transit modes. Under the uFLY pilot program, Utah leads a five-state partnership with Oregon, Idaho, Arizona, and Oklahoma. Aircraft will be tested under a variety of environmental conditions.

Hosts this Episode

Max Flight, our Main(e) Man Micah, and Rob Mark.