A preliminary FAA report indicated that staffing at the DCA Air Traffic Control tower was “not normal” at the time of the helicopter-plane collision.
According to NBC News, at the time of the collision, one controller was overseeing both helicopter and airplane traffic, though typically, one controller focuses solely on helicopter activity.
An American Airlines flight carrying approximately 64 people collided with a Blackhawk helicopter near Washington D.C. Reagan National Airport (DCA) late Wednesday evening.
All 67 people aboard perished.
The FAA report revealed that staffing at DCA was “not normal” given the amount of evening traffic at the airport.
As reported by NBC News:
A preliminary FAA report on the collision found that air traffic control tower staffing at Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) was “not normal” for the amount of air traffic and for the time of day, a source with knowledge of the situation told NBC News.
The tower typically has a controller that focuses specifically on helicopter traffic. But at the time of the crash last night, the source said, one controller at DCA was overseeing both airplane and helicopter activity.
FAA guidelines do allow for this position to be combined, permitting one controller to control both airplanes and helicopters.
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