Staffing at air traffic control tower ‘not normal’ during Washington plane crash, FAA report reveals

Air traffic control staffing at Washington, D.C.’s Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was “not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic,” on Wednesday night when a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines jet collided mid-air, according to a new report.

The crash happened late Wednesday over the Potomac River as the jet from Wichita, Kansas descended to Reagan Washington National. Officials say all 67 people on board both aircraft are believed to be dead as recovery efforts continue.

The air traffic controller who was monitoring helicopters near the airport on Wednesday evening was also monitoring planes taking off and landing, according to the FAA report reviewed by The New York Times. These jobs are typically assigned to two different people, the outlet reported.

The airport’s air traffic control tower had been understaffed for years, according to the Times, with just 19 fully certified controllers as of September 2023 despite targets set by the FAA for 30 controllers.

However, the National Transportation Safety Board said they will not speculate on the causes of the crash and will release a preliminary report on the incident within 30 days.

“We will not be determining the probable cause of the accident while we are here on scene, nor will we speculate about what may have caused this accident,” J. Todd Inman, a member of the NTSB, told reporters Thursday afternoon.

“As part of any investigation, we look at the human, the machine and the environment,” Jennifer Homendy, chair of the NTSB, added. “So we will look at all the humans that were involved in this accident. Again, we will look at the aircraft. We will look at the helicopter. We will look at the environment in which they were operating in. That is standard in any part of our investigation.”

This comes amid another report indicating that air traffic control asked the American Airlines pilot to change its initial landing plan, switching the aircraft from one runway to another, the Times reported.

Just moments before the crash, air traffic control directed the plane away from Runway 1 — the airport’s main runway — to Runway 33, according to the Times. However, decisions like this are made routinely, especially with regional jets, sources briefed on the incident told the Times.

President Donald Trump spoke on the incident Thursday, claiming without any evidence that the crash may have been caused by diversity initiatives within the federal government. When asked about the potential air traffic controller shortage, Trump doubled down and added that he believed it was an issue of “competence.”

“That’s part of competence right there,” the president said.

“Competence would be you’re not going to have a shortage,” he added. “But if you had the right people, you wouldn’t need as many people.”

The Independent has contacted the FAA for comment.