The staffing at the air control tower at Reagan National Airport was "not normal" when an American Airlines plane and Army helicopter collided on Wednesday night, a report shows.

A jet with 60 passengers and four crew members collided with an Army helicopter while approaching Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C., sending the two aircraft plummeting into the Potomac River.

DCA is one of the most demanding airports in the world. It also has what’s known as ‘helicopter alley’ with hundreds of police, military, news and rescue helicopters criss-crossing

The controller was handling jobs typically assigned to two different controllers. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Mike Whitaker, unanimously confirmed as the FAA administrator in October 2023, stepped down early from his five-year term on Jan. 20 when Trump took office and for 10 days the FAA declined to say who was running the agency on an acting basis. Trump has not yet named a permanent candidate to replace Whitaker.

A preliminary safety report from the Federal Aviation Administration reportedly found that air traffic control staffing was abnormally low at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on the evening of Wednesday, Jan. 29, according to The New York Times, which obtained a copy of the report.

It appears that the first major air disaster in the U.S. since 2009 has occurred while the Federal Aviation Administration does not have a permanent leader.

A former FAA official and Embry-Riddle professor is urging a thorough investigation into what caused the American Airlines crash in Washington, D.C.

A regional jet that had departed from Wichita, Kansas, collided with a military helicopter on a training flight while on approach to an airport runway.

Oklahoma lawmaker shocked by Washington, D.C., tragedy, could lead to FAA improvements

The staffing at the air control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was "not normal" when an American Airlines plane and an Army helicopter collided on Wednesday night, a report shows.