An initial Federal Aviation Administration report obtained by US media organisations said staffing levels were “not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic” before a military helicopter collided with a passenger jet in the heart of Washington DC.
Staffing levels ‘not normal’ in control tower at time of Washington DC crash, report says Initial Federal Aviation Administration report says roles of coordinating helicopter traffic and planes were combined.
Investigators have recovered the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from American Eagle flight 5342, an American Airlines flight operated by PSA, the National Transportation Safety Board said late on Thursday.
But the initial FAA report, obtained by the New York Times, the Associated Press and others, concludes differently, saying that the staffing was “not normal” either for the time of day or the amount of air traffic over the city, which has more than 100 helicopters a day on average.
A day before Wednesday night’s collision near Reagan National airport, a different jet there had to abort its landing and make a second approach after a helicopter appeared near its flight path, the Washington Post reported.
