A leaked internal report said that staffing at the air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan National Airport was “not normal” during the deadly midair collision in Washington D.C. on Wednesday.
The New York Times report stated that the controller who was directing helicopter traffic around the airport on Wednesday night was also instructing airplanes. The report noted these jobs are typically assigned to two different controllers at the airport.
67 people were killed between the soldiers aboard the U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and PSA Airlines flight 5342 when they collided over the Potomac River.
So far, only the pilots on board the PSA flight have been identified as 28-year-old Sam Lilley and 34-year-old Jonathan Campos.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident. President Donald Trump said in a press briefing Thursday morning that he believed DEI policies at the Federal Aviation Administration were to blame for the crash.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) – which represents FAA controllers – released a statement on Thursday grieving for the deceased and supporting air traffic controllers.
“NATCA stands with the highly trained, highly skilled air traffic controller workforce and those who perform safety-critical work 24 hours-a-day, seven days-a-week, 365 days-a-year and keeps the United States as the gold standard for aviation safety,” NATCA said in its news release emailed to AirlineGeeks.
“NATCA has been and remains supportive of taking all possible steps to ensure America has the best and safest air traffic control system in the world,” the organization added. “We will be a ready partner with the administration and Congress in any effort to further modernize the ATC system to maximize safety and protect lives.”
