Control Tower Staffing Was ‘Not Normal’ During Deadly Crash, F.A.A. Report Says

from the NYT

Staffing at the air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan National Airport was “not normal” during the deadly late-night crash between a passenger jet and an Army helicopter that killed 67 people, a preliminary Federal Aviation Administration report said, as bodies of the victims were being recovered Thursday from the icy Potomac.

The internal report reviewed by The New York Times said the controller who was handling helicopters in the airport’s vicinity on Wednesday night was also instructing planes that were landing and departing from its runways — jobs typically assigned to two different controllers. President Trump promised on Thursday that a thorough investigation would be conducted, while also engaging in political attacks on his predecessors.

Among the victims about Flight 5342 were several figure skaters from the United States and Russia who had attended the national figure skating championships in Wichita, Kan., where the American Eagle flight originated...

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