LaGuardia ATC was fully staffed for that time of night, per NYT. This article is factually incorrect and ridiculous political grandstanding following this fact.
It also conveniently neglects the skyrocketing 'near miss' rates that began in the previous administration, illuminating this as a political piece. [1] [2]
"They were part of an alarming pattern of safety lapses and near misses in the skies and on the runways of the United States, a Times investigation found" (2023) [3]
Additionally, the FAA is known to have lowered standards for diverse hiring reasons and was subject to a class action lawsuit on this point, which revealed a rigged "biographical test" that diverse candidates knew the answers to, and which had zero basis in skill or merit. [4]
[1] https://simpleflying.com/faa-near-miss-incidents-2023/
[2] https://www.wsj.com/business/airlines/near-misses-and-runway...
[3] https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/08/21/business/airl...
[4] https://iclg.com/news/22215-federal-aviation-administration-...
