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‘Not Normal’: Stunning Details Revealed On Staffing At DCA Air Traffic Control During Deadly Collision

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A quiet evening over Washington, D.C., turned into a national tragedy Wednesday night as a midair collision between an American Airlines regional jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter sent both aircraft plunging into the frigid waters of the Potomac River. The deadly crash near Reagan National Airport claimed 67 lives—the worst such incident since 2001.

President Trump confirmed Thursday morning that there were no survivors aboard American Eagle Flight 5342, which was en route from Wichita, Kansas, with 60 passengers and four crew members. The Army Black Hawk, conducting routine operations in restricted airspace, also went down with its crew.

Recovery efforts were underway as authorities worked in harsh winter conditions to retrieve bodies from the wreckage. Now, troubling new details have emerged about the circumstances leading up to the disaster.

An internal report from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reveals that staffing at the air traffic control tower at Reagan National Airport was “not normal” on the night of the accident. The controller on duty was reportedly handling responsibilities typically divided between two people.

Washington D.C. USA- An American Airlines 737 parked at a gate at Washington National Airport.

The lone controller was left to monitor multiple aircraft in one of the busiest—and most sensitive—airspaces in the nation. An internal preliminary safety report by the FAA, reviewed by The New York Times, revealed that staffing at the air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan National Airport was unusually low given the traffic volume and time of day.

On Wednesday night, a single controller was tasked with managing helicopters and planes landing and taking off, roles typically handled by two separate controllers. This consolidation of responsibilities heightened the controllers’ workload and added complexity to their duties.

One significant challenge arises from the use of different radio frequencies for communicating with helicopter pilots versus plane pilots, potentially preventing these pilots from hearing each other while the controller switches between frequencies. Experts have long warned that understaffed control towers present serious risks, particularly in high-traffic zones like D.C.

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – Control Tower, National Airport seen from Metro Station platform. Ronald Reagan National Airport, aka DCA, is actually in Arlington, three miles from DC.

While investigators have yet to determine whether staffing levels played a direct role in Wednesday’s deadly collision, the report’s findings suggest a breakdown in standard procedure at a moment when precision and oversight were critical. For years, the Reagan Airport tower has grappled with a chronic understaffing issue, common among U.S. air traffic control facilities.

Data from the Air Traffic Controller Workforce Plan, an annual report to Congress, highlights that as of September 2023, the tower had only 19 fully certified controllers, well below the FAA and controllers’ union’s staffing goal of 30, according to The Times. The persistent shortage, driven by factors such as high turnover rates and budget limitations, has led to controllers frequently working extensive hours, often six days a week for 10 hours daily. The FAA has yet to issue a response to these findings.

“Just before nine p.m. last night, an American Airlines regional jet carrying sixty passengers and four crew collided with an Army Black Hawk carrying three military service members over the Potomac River,” President Trump announced Thursday.

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“Both aircrafts crashed instantly and were immediately submerged into the icy waters of the Potomac. Real tragedy.”

Audio from the moment of the crash reveals a chaotic situation at the airport’s air traffic control center shortly after officers directed flight 5342 to land while ordering the Army helicopter to fly behind the jet. A short time later, a fireball above the city’s sky was captured on camera, and air traffic control began diverting numerous flights away from the area.