According to an internal initial report from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the number of employees working in the Air Monitoring Tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia“It is not normal for the time of today and the volume of traffic.”
On Wednesday night, a US Airlines The army plane and a helicopter collided with the army near the National Airport outside Washington, DC, and it is assumed that all 67 people on the plane have died.
the Associated Press I got a report showing the air traffic controller who was working on two situation at the time of the accident.
Usually, duties are divided between air traffic control units.
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General view of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on Thursday. The American lines flight from Whitchita, Kansas, collided with a Black Hawk helicopter while approaching the airport to land on Wednesday evening. (Lee Green in favor of Fox News Digital)
“The formation of the situation was not normal for today and the volume of traffic,” the report says.
Despite the report that the employment says “not normal”, he told a person familiarize news Digital that the employment in the DCA control tower on Wednesday evening was at an ordinary level.
The person explained that the positions are combined if the control units are forced to move away from the separation console, or if they are involved in changing the transformation. Control units may also have to move away when the air traffic is slow, as the person explained, and it spoke on the condition that his identity is not disclosed to discuss internal procedures.
Supervisors have the ability to combine roles, and this is the case on Wednesday night, although the person familiar with it cannot say the reason. When asked about air traffic and previous reports that it was heavy on Wednesday night, the source said it was moderate.
The National Watch Tower of Rigan has been exposed for years with 19 fully accredited control units as of September 2023. However, the employment targets set by the FAA and the control union for 30.
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Emergency response units evaluate the wreckage of the Botomac River near the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on Thursday. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
FAA air traffic controller is not new to Ragan National or most of the country's air traffic control facilities.
Last year, the CEO of Frontier Airlines Barry Biffle appeared on “The Campan Countdown” of the Fox Business Network and warned that the shortage may cause problems during the summer season if it is not treated.
BifFle explained that although technology can help address the problem while enhancing more efficiency in long -term air travel, the lack of air traffic control contributes to delay and cancellation.
Rescuers on a boat near the wreckage of the Black Hawk helicopter at the location of the accident after it collided with the US Eagle 5342 flight, which was approaching the Rigan Washington National Airport and crashed into the Botomac River, outside Washington, DC, on Wednesday. (Kevin Lamark/Reuters)
“There are opportunities to improve technology that is a type of spine for air control,” said Bever. “If you look at Europe, for example, there are some opportunities that we can build here and that will be more efficient – a lot of fuel will burn, get there faster and so on. This is a great opportunity.”
“At the same time, it does not deny the problem that I think we are 3000 short control units at the present time. That is why it only causes, when you have a weather event, it causes more delay,” he explained. , These delays turn into a cancellation because the crews that took place and so on. (I) He really wants to see the recruitment is fixed. Technology may be a longer solution. “
the FAA The Safety Review Team was created in the field of national airspace (NAS) in April 2023 in the aftermath of many of the inconsistencies of the nearby runway during takeoff or landing at crowded airports, that year decides that the approval of many challenges such as the crisis of air traffic monitoring employees, insufficient financing and technology Pardoned “results from the erosion of safety margins that must be treated quickly.”
“The current erosion in the safety margin of people caused by the meeting of these challenges makes the current level of safety not sustainable,” the team's report said.
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The reason for this deficiency was attributed to employees' rotation and other factors such as narrow budgets, and in the end, it led to the work of many control units for 10 days and six days a week, the New York Times reported.
Louis Cassiano of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
