NEW YORK, January 31. /TASS/. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was not properly staffed when a passenger plane collided with a military helicopter on Wednesday evening, The New York Times (NYT) wrote citing preliminary findings of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
According to the report, staffing at the airport tower "not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic." For example, the controller who was handling helicopters in the airport’s vicinity Wednesday night was also instructing planes that were landing and departing from its runways. Those jobs typically are assigned to two controllers, rather than one, the report says.
Like most of the country’s air traffic control facilities, the tower at Reagan airport has been understaffed for years, the NYT wrote.
"The tower there was nearly a third below targeted staff levels, with 19 fully certified controllers as of September 2023," it said. "The targets set by the FAA and the controllers’ union call for 30."
The shortage has forced many controllers to work up to six days a week and 10 hours a day, the newspaper wrote.
An American Airlines passenger jet and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter collided near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The American Airlines flight, en route from Wichita, Kansas, was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members. There were at least three service members aboard the helicopter. Upon the collision, both aircraft crashed into the Potomac River. The bodies of 28 people have been plucked out of the water so far. US authorities said there are no survivors.
According to the Wichita Eagle newspaper, members of the US junior figure skating team were aboard the plane. A source told TASS that Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who won the world championships in pairs figure skating for Russia in 1994, were also among the passengers, as well as Inna Volyanskaya, Soviet bronze medalist in pairs figure skating.
US President Donald Trump confirmed that Russian citizens were killed in the plane crash. The US has already been in contact with Russia about transferring of their remains.