The air traffic controller on duty during the fatal collision between an American Airlines passenger plane and a Black Hawk helicopter in Washington, D.C., was doing the job of two people, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed on Thursday.
According to a preliminary FAA report cited by The New York Times, staffing levels in the air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport were below the usual level for that time of day and the volume of air traffic. The report found that due to insufficient staffing, a single controller was doing double duty —monitoring helicopters while also directing aircraft taking off and landing on the airport’s runways.
Heavy on the Runway
X
The report noted that these duties are typically divided between two controllers. However, the busy airport’s air traffic control facilities have faced staffing shortages for years, with only 19 fully certified controllers available as of September 2023, according to Congress’ Air Traffic Controller Workforce Plan.
In that plan, ATC said it is “committed to maximum hiring for the next few years to recover from substantial under-hiring due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the lapse in funding in 2019.”
X
The report from the Biden administration also highlighted the agency’s dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
“The FAA is fully committed to ensuring equal employment opportunity while maintaining the highest safety standards as outlined in the agency’s Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan 2021-2025,” the report said.
“These principles are supported by focusing and increasing outreach and recruitment to underrepresented communities through intern programs, outreach to colleges, universities, and community organizations and partnerships with other federal agencies,” the report continued.
X
In 2023, the FAA surpassed its hiring goal of 1,500 air traffic controllers by onboarding 1,512 new personnel.
According to the target set by the FAA and the controllers’ union, the facility should have had 30 controllers available. However, ongoing shortages have forced many controllers to work 10-hour shifts and six-day weeks.
Risky Business Operations
The deadly collision took place around 9 p.m. on Wednesday when a regional jet, arriving from Wichita, Kansas, crashed into a military helicopter on a training mission, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
X
Just minutes before landing, air traffic controllers asked if American Airlines Flight 5342 could land on a shorter runway, to which the pilots agreed. The plane was cleared to land, and flight tracking sites showed the aircraft adjusting its approach to accommodate the new runway.
Less than 30 seconds before the crash, an air traffic controller asked the helicopter if it had the incoming plane in sight. Moments later, the controller radioed the helicopter again, instructing it to “pass behind the CRJ” — apparently signaling the helicopter to wait for the Bombardier CRJ-700 jet to pass. However, there was no response. Seconds after, the collision occurred.
The plane’s radio transponder stopped transmitting about 2,400 feet from the runway, roughly over the center of the Potomac.
The passengers included figure skaters returning from the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, along with two of their Russian coaches, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov.
X
The Kremlin confirmed that other Russian nationals, in addition to Shishkova and Naumov, were also aboard the plane. The coaches, skaters, and others had participated in the championships, which ended on Sunday, as well as a development camp.
Shishkova and Naumov, who were married, had won a world championship in pairs figure skating in 1994.
Officials reported that the plane’s fuselage was found upside down, broken into three sections, and submerged in waist-deep water. The wreckage of the helicopter was also found.
