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NTSB: Air Controller in Charge was Doing Duties of 2 Positions; NTSB: Just Before Fatal Collision, Separate Flight Had Emergency; Markwayne Mullin Takes Over DHS Amid Funding Standoff; Thousands of TSA Callouts Happening Daily as Shutdown Drags On. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired March 24, 2026 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[14:30:00]

JENNIFER HOMENDY, NTSB CHAIR: ... I can tell you that our air traffic control team has stated this is a problem, that this is a concern for them for years, that they have had this concern for quite a long time. I can understand it's a concern, especially if there's a heavy workload.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: But ASDE-X did not work, and during the near collisions of 2023, you repeatedly said that ASDE-X should be at more airports and it could prevent collisions. How upset does it make you that it's clear that it did not work in this scenario?

HOMENDY: Well, the question is, how upset does it make me that ASDE-X didn't work? Because we've repeatedly recommended that ASDE-X worked. Well, in order for ASDE-X to work well, you have to know where ground vehicles and aircraft are.

So in this case, that vehicle did not have a transponder. And it would have been helpful when you have a radar target, it does not provide you with the information that you need like it would for an aircraft as a controller.

Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

HOMENDY: Is there any indication from the CVR that the pilot saw the firetruck on the runway? I don't have information at this time on that. However, we are doing further analysis on our cockpit voice recorder.

We have a group that we have formed that will analyze the CVR. And part of when they analyze is they will talk in the group about what they're hearing. What they've heard, any sort of background noises.

And we'll provide a transcript. And then we'll release that publicly. So we'll know more then.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) with regard to the midnight shift, is it literally a midnight shift that you expressed concerns about in the past? Or is it sort of that later shift when there's typically less traffic at an airport? The reason I ask it is around this time, late at night on a Sunday night in LaGuardia, there's still lots of alcohol drivers.

To that degree, does that raise questions about the protocol and staffing here at this airport?

HOMENDY: Well, so the question is about the shift. And are we just concerned about that shift in the past? Or would there be other shifts? And does it make sense to have two controllers in the cab with such a busy airport, and this be sort of standard operating procedures and common practice across the national airspace?

I think I restated it accurately and have now forgotten what you asked me. But on the standard operating procedures, look, LaGuardia is 900 flights, I believe, per day.

That's pretty substantial. It's not the same as other airports across the national airspace. That's certainly something we will look at as part of this investigation.

How would that make sense? Why would that make sense at LaGuardia? That is part of our analysis in this investigation.

And what was the other one? Oh, on the mid-shift. We have identified the mid-shift generally as concern in other investigations, largely due to fatigue, because it spans that time frame at your circadian low during the day when you're most fatigued.

Yes.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: All right, we are listening to this NTSB, and we'll continue to monitor this press conference happening at LaGuardia Airport. Let's bring in CNN aviation analyst Peter Goelz.

Peter, what are the things that stand out to you?

PETER GOELZ, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, first, just how chilling was investigator in charge, Doug Brazy's recitation of the final three minutes of this flight. I mean, that was devastating. I mean, that was a very hard thing to listen to.

But what stands out is that you had a shift change taking place at precisely the wrong time. You had an increase in activity at the airport. You had an emergency taking place.

You had flight delays that were coming in. And then you had a downsizing of the staff going to two people for the overnight shift. Couldn't have happened at a worse time.

[14:35:00]

And then the third thing that stands out is the lead vehicle in this train of emergency vehicles did not have a transponder, which is just extraordinary. And because it did not have a transponder, it would not have been picked up by the advanced ASDE-X monitoring system that was put in place to track these kinds of vehicles and prevent these kinds of accidents.

So there's a lot of disturbing things. But clearly, the most devastating was the last three minutes.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Homendy was asked if there was any evidence that the pilots had spotted the truck as it entered the runway. And there was a moment in that breakdown of the timeline of the final three minutes where the first mate transfers control of the plane to the captain.

GOELZ: Yes.

SANCHEZ: It happened at about six seconds before the voice data recorder shut off. Does that indicate to you that the pilots were aware of it and perhaps attempted a last second maneuver?

GOELZ: I think we haven't heard the final recitation from the voice recorder. What they did was to discuss the external communications with the cockpit. They did not review the internal discussions.

My guess is that there was an exchange of power from the right seat to the captain and that there was some discussion. But we won't hear from that until the cockpit voice recorder group convenes tomorrow and does a detailed analysis with people who recognize the voices of the two fallen crew members.

KEILAR: And Peter, just really quickly, before we let you go, if that fire truck had had a transponder, what would have happened? Would it have triggered the ASDE-X system in such a way that the air traffic controller in the tower would have gotten an alert to know that this was happening sooner? Would it have triggered something for the pilots?

Would it have triggered something for the fire truck? What would it have done?

GOELZ: It it's not clear yet, but it would have clearly triggered an acknowledgement on the controller's screen as they monitor the ground traffic. But I'm not sure the controllers were looking at that screen at that moment. It was a lot going on, but that's going to be a major part of the investigation -- Brianna.

KEILAR: All right, Peter, thank you so much for your expertise there.

And ahead on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, we will go to the White House, where Senator Markwayne Mullin is being sworn in now as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, taking over a department caught in the middle of a funding fight led to long lines.

And these are live pictures of those long lines for TSA checkpoints at America's airports, including in Houston, where you are watching. We'll have that next.

[14:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KEILAR: Moments ago, Markwayne Mullin was sworn in as the new Secretary of Homeland Security and CNN's Alanya Treene is there at the White House.

Alayna, the president took questions from reporters. What did he say?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think one of the biggest things out of this that we've been hearing so far, Brianna, is what the president said about this new Republican proposal to try and end the now nearly 40 day shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security. The president really not doing much to sound enthusiastic or optimistic about this. He told reporters essentially that declining to immediately back this.

And he said that he's going to take a hard look at this new proposal. But then he went on to say that, quote, I think any deal they make, I'm pretty not -- I'm pretty much not happy with it, is how he described this. And I will say we did hear, of course, some Republicans hailing this as a compromise as they move forward, thinking that this could be a way out of the shutdown, as we've seen airports, of course, kind of mangled in the troubles of not getting paychecks to TSA agents of all the struggles there.

But then also, of course, there's a lot of threats right now that DHS is having to monitor with the war abroad in Iran and a number of other things. Of course, that Mullin, who is now sworn in and now the new secretary of Homeland Security, is going to have to deal with. And so I think as there's so many questions about where is an end in sight to this major shutdown, Republicans coming out yesterday after meeting here at the White House really saying they were hoping this could be the turning the tide of this weeks long shutdown. At this point, the president not really doing much to sell it, though, Brianna.

KEILAR: All right, Alayna Treene, thank you for the report.

Still to come, we will speak with a TSA worker on what the past 40 days have been like as the funding standoff goes on. We'll have that next.

[14:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: New numbers just out from the Department of Homeland Security. Officials say more than 450 TSA agents have now quit since the beginning of the partial shutdown in mid-February, and each day there are thousands who are calling out, thousands of them. 3,200 called out yesterday.

Many TSA workers have been going now 40 days without a full paycheck. We're joined now by Angela Grana. She is the regional vice president of Colorado TSA Workers Union, AFGE Local 1127.

[14:50:00]

She is speaking to us today in her personal capacity and not on behalf of the TSA. Angela, thank you so much for being with us. 450 TSA officers quitting and so many calling out.

What is the feeling right now among TSA officers as this is just dragging on and on?

ANGELA GRANA, REGIONAL VP, COLORADO TSA WORKERS UNION AFGE LOCAL 1127: Despair, desperation, anxiety. They're sick to their stomachs. They're not calling out because they want to call out.

They're civil servants. They wear their uniform proudly. They know that their mission is to protect the nation's transportation systems.

They're calling out because they don't have gas. They don't have money. They can't buy the simple essentials to feed their family.

This can't go on. We're still making up for the last shutdown. Now you're asking us to endure again this unacceptable not being able to get paid.

It's just not right. Why are we getting blamed for this? It's not right.

KEILAR: And I know we're saying that there was a partial paycheck at the beginning, but it was a few dollars, right, is what a lot of folks were getting there. And the average salary of a TSA worker is $35,000 a year. And it's very tough, very tough for them right now as they're not getting paid.

But a senior administration official is telling CNN that the paychecks for law enforcement officers in ICE, and Border Patrol, the Secret Service, the Coast Guard is getting paid. All of these folks under DHS, they are funded by last summer's Big Beautiful Bill. How is that making TSA agents feel when it comes to where they rank as a priority?

GRANA: Abandoned, unvalued, forgotten, unimportant. It feels horrible. Our mission is just as important.

We know what our responsibilities are. We'll never recover from this abuse. We'll never catch up on our bills.

We already live paycheck to paycheck. We can't ask for another loan because we're still owing the loan from the last shutdown. We should never have such a small salary to begin with for such a huge responsibility that we have.

And then we're working side by side with our counterparts that are getting paid. It's pretty demoralizing.

KEILAR: Angela, I want you to stand by. Let's listen now to President Trump. He is taking questions after the swearing in of the new DHS secretary.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... Without the family, he's not here. He's a different person. And that goes especially for mom, who looks like she's about 22 years old.

I don't know. I see these kids, but she looks very young. But it's a great couple.

Congratulations to you both. Thank you. Thank you, Mark.

Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you.

KEILAR: All right. He was just taking a quick question about negotiations. Back now with Angela Grana, who is a regional vice president of the Colorado TSA Workers Union.

This is not getting resolved at this point in time. There are negotiations that have been ongoing, and there seemed to be a glimmer of hope. But now there again appears to be this kind of impasse, Angela.

What is the message that you want elected officials here in Washington to know from the perspective of TSA workers?

GRANA: As workers, we only have one line. One line for passengers, obviously. In some airports, it's a long line.

But we don't have a blue line, and we don't have a red line. We're red, white, and blue. We work together as officers.

We don't understand why Congress can't do the same. Lock yourselves up in a room and discuss this. Talk about whatever needs to be talked about.

Figure out whatever needs to be figured out. But why are you not paying us? Like I said, we're not going to ever recover.

And this is a huge burden on security. When we're distracted, when we're not paying attention because we're thinking about other things, that's a security risk in itself. We can't get it wrong.

We have to get it right 100 percent of the time. The bad guys that are paying attention, they just got to get it right one time. This is it.

Security runs on our labor, and our labor cannot be for free. We have to get paid.

[14:55:00]

KEILAR: Angela, thank you so much. We hear you as you're saying, TSA workers, they're choosing between this very important work that they do and their families who depend on them. And hopefully, folks here in Washington are listening. Thanks for being with us.

GRANA: Thank you.

KEILAR: And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Now to some of the other headlines we're watching this hour. At least 64 people are dead, dozens more injured after a Colombian military transport plane crashed after takeoff on Monday. You see flames and smoke rising from the wreckage near the border with Ecuador.

Colombian military officials said the aircraft broke into pieces on impact about two miles from the airport. Right now the cause of this crash is unknown.

And a piece of Georgia history went up in flames on Monday as a raging fire destroyed this historic late 19th century ...

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