NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy stated on the evening of March 23 that many team members were still in transit, preventing full on-site investigative work on the first day.
Dozens of NTSB personnel, including 25 specialists, were dispatched to LaGuardia Airport to investigate the crash that occurred Sunday night, which left two pilots dead and more than 40 people injured.
However, the team's travel has faced significant hurdles due to congestion at security checkpoints. One NTSB air traffic control specialist reportedly waited three hours at Houston airport before receiving priority assistance to continue their journey.
The primary cause is a staffing shortage at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), as many employees have called out after going over a month without full pay due to the partial government shutdown.
In this context, President Trump has deployed ICE forces to assist the TSA at airports, but wait times continue to rise at numerous locations across the country.
The delay in reaching the scene is expected to impact the timeline for data collection and the assessment of the crash's cause.
