A report reveals that on Wednesday evening, air traffic control duties for military helicopters and commercial flights at Reagan National Airport were combined ahead of a fatal collision. According to the New York Times, citing a source familiar with staffing and an FAA preliminary safety report, a supervisor assigned one controller to manage both helicopter and plane traffic before the crash involving an American Airlines flight and an Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River.
Typically, helicopter and airplane traffic control duties are separated from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the airport, with combined duties only occurring after 9:30 p.m. when traffic decreases. However, on Wednesday, the supervisor merged these responsibilities before 9:30 p.m. and permitted another controller to leave early.
The FAA’s preliminary safety report noted that staffing levels at the airport were “not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic,” as reported by The Associated Press.
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