The Federal Aviation Administration will speed up the installation of transponders on airport vehicles after a fatal March accident at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, where an Air Canada Express aircraft struck a fire truck during landing. The FAA said it will spend $16.5 million to equip about 1,900 vehicles at 44 airports with Vehicle Movement Area Transmitters, or VMATs, which help air traffic controllers track ground traffic more accurately.
The agency said the project had been under consideration for several months but was accelerated after the March 22 crash. A preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report found that the fire truck involved was not equipped with a transponder. The FAA also said the rollout will extend to another 220 airports that either use or are expected to receive Surface Awareness Initiative systems.
The agency encouraged airports and airlines to install similar technology on their own vehicles as part of broader runway safety efforts.