Understaffed Air Traffic Control, DEI Are Unlikely Causes of D.C. Plane Crash
In the immediate aftermath of the deadly collision between an Army Blackhawk helicopter and an American Airlines flight over Washington D.C., people are searching for answers.
The direct cause of the Wednesday night collision, which has tragically left 67 people dead, is not known yet.
Initial reporting has tended to focus on potential error or confusion on the part of the Blackhawk pilot, which resulted in it being “in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
The helicopter pilot was flying under visual flight rules (meaning the pilot was using their eyes, not their instruments to avoid other aircraft) and had reported to air traffic control that they could see a regional jet approaching the airport.
An Army spokesperson told The New York Times that the helicopter pilots had experience flying this route near Reagan National Airport and that any assessment about the accident should wait until the Blackhawk’s black box is recovered.
The New York Times and Washington Post, both citing a preliminary government accident report that was described to them, report that the air traffic control tower was at below-normal staffing levels and that two controller positions that would have separately handled helicopter and airplane traffic were being manned by one person.
The Post reports that there were only two controllers in the tower instead of the four that would normally be there at that time.
However, current and former air traffic controllers who spoke to Reason said that it is standard for a single controller to be responsible for all local air traffic, including both helicopters and airplanes.
“Unless they have an extremely abnormal operation, I would shoot down the idea that there should have two controllers talking to each airplane,” says one current air traffic controller who spoke anonymously to Reason. “I would bet a million dollars that’s not the case.”
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