In a shocking revelation, an internal preliminary safety report by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has shed light on the fatal collision between an American Airlines flight and a Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday night.
The report, scrutinized by the New York Times, suggests that the staffing at the air traffic control tower at the DC-area airport was not up to par. The report specifically highlighted that the staffing at Reagan National Airports air traffic control tower was "not normal for the time of time and volume of traffic."
According to The Post Millennial, the controller on duty that fateful evening was tasked with managing both helicopters in the airports vicinity and directing planes that were departing and landing on the airports runways. This is a job typically assigned to two controllers. The report also revealed that the tower at DCs closest airport has been understaffed for years, operating nearly a third below the targeted staff levels as of September 2023, with only 19 fully certified controllers. This has led to many controllers working up to six days per week and 10 hours per day.
A report from CNN in May 2024 indicated that air traffic control stations across the country were short of around 3,000 controllers. In the 2023 fiscal year, the FAA hired approximately 1,512 new controller candidates but lost 1,300 employees during the same timeframe. This included retired employees or candidates who dropped out of training. Around 400 people failed the FAAs academy and another 109 who had been farther along in training dropped out.
In 2023, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg expressed his concerns over air traffic control shortages in New York, labeling it as "unacceptable," as reported by Reuters. This was in response to the FAA extending cuts to its minimum flight requirements at area airports due to staffing shortages. The New York Terminal Radar Approach Control staffing was at a mere 54 percent of the recommended staffing at the time.
The fatal collision occurred just before 9 pm on Wednesday. American Airlines flight 5342 was approaching Reagan Nationals runway 33 when it collided with a Black Hawk helicopter from the 12th Aviation Battalion at Fort Belvoir, which was on a training flight over the Potomac River. The collision resulted in a fireball in the sky. The helicopter had been airborne for just nine minutes, while the airplane was nearing the end of its flight from Wichita, Kansas. The helicopter had three people on board, while the American Airlines flight had 64 passengers and crew.
On Thursday morning, fire officials announced that rescue operations were transitioning to recovery operations, as they no longer believed there were any survivors. In a press conference on Thursday afternoon, Trump stated, "The FAAs website states they include hearing, vision, missing extremities, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, psychiatric disability and dwarfism, all qualify for the position of a controller of airplanes pouring into our country, pouring into a little spot on the map." He added, "The people in the helicopter should have seen where they were going. I cant imagine people with 20/20 vision not seeing whats happening up there. They shouldnt have been at the same height."
Trump reassured the American public, stating, "Flying is very safe. We have the safest flying anywhere in the world and well keep it that way," and added, "Id not hesitate to fly. This is something that, its been many years, something like this has happened. The collision is just something that we dont expect ever to happen again." As this story continues to unfold, it serves as a stark reminder of the importance of adequate staffing and rigorous training in maintaining aviation safety.
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