New details indicate the air traffic control tower at Reagan National Airport in the Washington, D.C., area was understaffed when a nearby helicopter collided with a passenger jet on Wednesday night.
An internal preliminary report from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that staffing at the tower was “not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic,” according to The New York Times.
“The tower was nearly a third below targeted staff levels, with 19 fully certified controllers as of Sept. ***2023***… The shortage — caused by ***years*** of employee turnover and tight budgets, among other factors — has forced many controllers to work up to six days a week…” https://t.co/f78yCtL21j
— Jerry Dunleavy IV 🇺🇸 (@JerryDunleavy) January 30, 2025
The newspaper said the controller who was dealing with helicopters around the airport was also instructing planes…
