A report reveals that air traffic control duties for helicopters and incoming planes at Reagan National Airport were combined on Wednesday evening before a deadly collision,
An air traffic controller was assigned both tasks by their supervisor ahead of the crash between an American Airlines flight and an Army Black Hawk helicopter. Normally, these duties are separate from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., but the supervisor combined them earlier than usual, allowing one controller to leave early. The FAA’s preliminary safety report noted that staffing was “not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic.”