A preliminary safety report has revealed that only one air traffic controller was on duty at the time of a mid-air collision near Washington, DC, which killed 67 people. Normally, two controllers handle plane and helicopter traffic separately, but a supervisor allowed one controller to leave early on the night of January 29th, leaving one person responsible for both tasks. The report states that this staffing configuration was 'not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic'.
A preliminary safety report has revealed that one of the air traffic controllers left early on the night of the mid-air collision near Washington, DC, which claimed 67 lives. Typically, two air traffic controllers are assigned to the tower at Reagan Washington National Airport from 10am to 9.30pm — one handling planes and the other managing helicopters. Normally, the responsibilities are only combined after 9.30pm, when traffic decreases.
This meant that, at the time of the deadly collision between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet, only one air traffic controller was overseeing both helicopter and plane traffic. The report said that staffing configuration “was not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic”. While FAA guidelines do permit combining roles in certain circumstances, the report does not explain why the supervisor chose to do so on that particular evening.
AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL MID-AIR COLLISION FATALITY WASHINGTON D.C. FAA
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