One air traffic controller was working at the time of the fatal midair collision near Washington, D.C.'s Ronald Reagan National Airport on Wednesday, according to multiple reports.
Newsweek reached out to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Thursday via email for comment.
What To Know
The crash occurred before 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday night, involving a CRJ700 regional jet from Wichita, Kansas and a Sikorsky H-60 military helicopter. In an emailed response to Newsweek on Wednesday night, American Airlines confirmed "60 passengers and four crew members on board the aircraft."
The search and rescue mission moved to a recovery effort on Thursday as the exact number of casualties was immediately unknown. It is believed, however, that there are no survivors. The military helicopter was carrying three soldiers on board.
On Thursday, CNN's Omar Jimenez said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, citing an air traffic control source, "There was one air traffic controller working two different tower positions at the time of the collision Wednesday night."
The New York Times also reported, citing an internal report, that one air traffic controller was "handling helicopters in the airport's vicinity" and "instructing planes that were landing and departing from its runways." The Times noted that two people typically do this job.
It is immediately unclear to Newsweek if the staffing contributed to the fatal crash.
This is a developing story and will be updated when more information is available.
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Anna Commander
Anna Commander is a Newsweek Editor and writer based in Florida. Her focus is reporting on crime, weather and breaking ...
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