US officials downplay controller 'distraction' in New York crash

Two pilots were killed in the runway crash late Sunday, which crushed the cockpit of the Bombardier plane and heavily damaged the emergency vehicle. Media reports said investigators were probing whether airport traffic controllers were distracted by a separate odor issue on a United Airlines flight -- the emergency to which the fire truck was responding. "I would caution pointing fingers at controllers and saying distraction was involved," Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, told reporters.