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FAA report reveals staffing at traffic control was ‘not normal’ at time of crash

A preliminary safety report from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has revealed that staffing levels at the air traffic control tower at Reagan National Airport were “not normal” on the night of the fatal midair collision between an American Airlines flight and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter.

The internal FAA report, reviewed by the New York Times, indicated that the controller working Wednesday evening was responsible for managing both helicopters in the airport’s vicinity and planes arriving and departing from the runways—tasks typically assigned to two separate controllers.

Reagan National Airport’s control tower has reportedly faced chronic understaffing issues for years. As of September 2023, the tower had only 19 fully certified controllers, nearly a third below targeted staffing levels. Many controllers were reportedly working six-day weeks and 10-hour shifts to compensate for the shortage.

Nationwide, air traffic control centers were short by approximately 3,000 controllers as of May 2024, per a CNN report.

While the FAA hired around 1,512 new candidates in the 2023 fiscal year, it lost 1,300 employees due to retirements, training dropouts, and failures at the FAA academy.

On Wednesday night, American Airlines flight 5342 was on final approach to Reagan National’s runway 33 when it collided midair with a Black Hawk helicopter from the 12th Aviation Battalion at Fort Belvoir.

The helicopter had been conducting a routine training flight over the Potomac River and had only been airborne for nine minutes.

The American Airlines flight was nearing the end of its journey from Wichita, Kansas. The crash resulted in a massive fireball in the sky. The helicopter carried three crew members, while the plane had 64 passengers and crew aboard.

By Thursday morning, fire officials announced that the search-and-rescue mission had shifted to recovery efforts, as no survivors were expected to be found.

During a Thursday afternoon press conference, former President Donald Trump weighed in on the tragedy, raising concerns about FAA hiring practices.

“The FAA’s website states that individuals with hearing, vision impairments, missing extremities, partial or complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, psychiatric conditions, and dwarfism all qualify for the position of air traffic controller,” Trump said. “This is part of their diversity and inclusion hiring plan. I don’t think so.”

Trump also criticized the circumstances of the crash. “The people in the helicopter should have seen where they were going. I can’t imagine people with 20/20 vision not seeing what’s happening up there. They shouldn’t have been at the same altitude,” he said.

Despite the tragedy, Trump reassured the public that air travel remains safe. “Flying is very safe. We have the safest air travel system in the world, and we will keep it that way,” he stated. “I wouldn’t hesitate to fly. This type of collision is something we never expect to happen and hopefully never will again.”

The identities of several victims were confirmed on Thursday, including members of the Skating Club of Boston, multiple former students from Loudoun County Public Schools, Captain Jonathan Campos, First Officer Samuel Lilley—who was recently engaged—and flight attendants Ian Epstein and Danasia Elder.

This remains a developing story.