00:01One of the two runways that has been closed since March 22 at New York's LaGuardia Airport
00:07reopened on Thursday ahead of schedule.
00:10The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said arrival rates on Runway 4 will remain reduced
00:15after resuming operations following the crash involving an Air Canada Express plane
00:20and a fire truck that killed both the pilots.
00:23The FAA had predicted earlier this week that the runway would not reopen until Friday.
00:28The Port Authority of New York said after the wreckage was removed from the scene,
00:33personnel had repaired the runway and confirmed that it had met FAA regulations to resume operation.
00:40The investigation being conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board
00:44has so far pointed to critical safety system failures, NTSB Chair.
00:50Jennifer Homendy said on Tuesday that the airport's ground surveillance system
00:54failed to issue any alert warning of the aircraft's proximity to vehicles on the runway.
00:59She said the fire truck did not have a transponder,
01:02which would have allowed air traffic control to track its location in real time.
01:06The aircraft, carrying 76 people, struck the vehicle while landing,
01:11wounding also 39 passengers and crew members.
01:14The NTSB is examining communication between the flight crew, air traffic controllers and the fire truck
01:22as part of efforts to determine how the collision occurred.
01:25The FAA has previously encouraged airports to equip ground vehicles with transponders to improve tracking,
01:33particularly at high-traffic airports.
01:44The NTSB's
Comments