National Transportation Safety Board chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said during a news conference Tuesday that the system didn’t work as intended because the fire truck did not have a transponder.
The plane carying more than 70 people slammed into the fire truck while landing late Sunday night, killing the two pilots and injuring several passengers. Most, though, were able to escape the mangled aircraft, and a flight attendant still strapped in her seat survived after being thrown onto the tarmac.
Many questions remain about why the airport fire truck was crossing the runway while the plane was landing and why it didn't stop despite frantic, last-second warnings from the control tower.
Homendy said NTSB investigators have not yet had a chance to review data from the flight data recorder, but that she has seen surveillance video and still needs to interview the firefighters in the truck to find out whether they braked or turned to avoid a collision.
Investigators also want to know more about the role of the air traffic controllers and whether they were distracted while juggling a late night emergency with another plane.
