Photo: SAUL LOEB / AFP / Getty Images
A preliminary report from the Federal Aviation Administration noted that staffing at the air traffic control tower at Reagan Washington National Airport was "not normal" when an American Airlines commuter jet collided with a U.S. Army helicopter on Wednesday (January 29) night. According to NBC News, there should have been one air traffic controller specifically handling helicopter traffic in the area at the time of the crash.
However, one controller was handling both helicopter and airplane activity in the area.
Fox News reported that the air traffic control tower at the airport has been understaffed for years. The FAA and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association have both said that the airport should have 30 certified controllers on staff, but as of September 2023, there were just 23 air traffic controllers assigned to work at the airport.
The crash resulted in the deaths of all 67 individuals on board both aircraft, including 60 passengers and four crew members on the jet and three crew members on the helicopter. The incident happened as the American Airlines flight was making its final approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The skies were clear, and the flight paths of both the jet and the helicopter were described as standard before the collision. However, the crash was deemed "absolutely preventable" by newly appointed Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, who emphasized that the collision should not have occurred.
President Donald Trump expressed his condolences and called the collision a "tragedy of terrible proportions." He also criticized the Federal Aviation Administration's diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, suggesting they contributed to the crash, though the cause remains under investigation.