dailynewsnblog
The NTSB has given its first update following the fatal collision of 
Air Canada flight AC8646 with a firetruck on the runway at 
LaGuardia Airport(LGA) in the early hours of the morning. The briefing was given by Jennifer Homendy, Chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
While Homendy was able to give some details of the crash, she cautioned that she would not be providing hard facts until they had been verified by the NTSB. This meant that questions such as the number of air traffic controllers in the facility at the time of the crash went unanswered with Homendy suggesting that they will be answered tomorrow.
What We Know About the Air Canada AC8646 Collision
Homendy started the briefing by giving an overview of the current situation. She confirmed that there were 72 passengers and four members of crew on board the aircraft, while two firefighters were in the vehicle. At the time of writing, two fatalities had been confirmed, though the NTSB would not comment on this.
Today saw the NTSB undertake a complete walking inspection of the scene. Homendy commented that there was a tremendous amount of debris strewn across the runway and taxiways. The site commander is also undertaking a safety walkthrough of the site to make sure that investigators are safe on scene.
The NTSB has been able to recover both black boxes from the aircraft. Due to the angle of the wreckage, those responding to the crash had to cut through the roof of the aircraft to access them. They have been driven to the NTSB’s facilities. Homendy confirmed that the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) has been confirmed to be intact today, and tomorrow the agency will begin looking at the flight data recorder (FDR).
What Will The Next Steps Be?
Without an arsenal of clear facts that have been verified, Homendy used the press conference to give some insight as to what to expect over the coming days of the investigation. 25 specialists will be on site at the scene, supported by numerous other specialists off-site.
The next steps will be for the NTSB to begin going through all of the wreckage of flight AC8646 in situ. It all needs to be documented, photographed in place, and then removed. The NTSB Chairwoman said this process is going to take days, adding,
“It’s going to take some time. There is a lot of debris. We need to go through all of that.”
She also revealed that it was not possible to do a full day of investigation today, and that some of the agency’s specialists are still en route to the scene. Despite this, the first members of the team began to arrive at 3:10 AM. The agency will also be working with representatives of its Canadian counterpart and technical experts from both Air Canada and Bombardier.
Breaking: Air Canada CRJ-900 Collides With Fire Truck At LaGuardia, 2 Fatalities Reported
Authorities have confirmed the sad news that both of the aircraft’s pilots lost their lives in the crash.
DHS Shutdown Is Hampering The Response
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown, which is causing long lines at TSA, is causing a delay to the NTSB’s response to the incident, according to Homendy. She told reporters that the agency’s ATC specialist was in line at TSA for three hours today, adding:
“Our air traffic control specialist was in line with TSA for three hours until we called in Houston to beg to see if we could get her through to see if we could get her here. It’s been a really big challenge to get the entire team here, and they’re still arriving as I speak.”
The last NTSB investigators are expected to arrive on the scene of Air Canada flight AC8646 between midnight and 1:00 AM tomorrow morning. The agency will have a full day on the ground tomorrow, with Homendy saying that more facts should be verified ahead of tomorrow’s briefing.
