New reports indicate that at the time of the devastating collision between a military helicopter and a passenger jet, the air traffic control tower at Reagan National Airport was severely understaffed.
On January 29 at around 8:48 p.m. ET, an American Airlines regional jet and a U.S. Army helicopter collided midair and crashed into the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.
🚨#BREAKING: New dashcam footage captures the moment a military helicopter collides with an American Airlines jet, triggering a mass casualty event with reports of multiple fatalities⁰⁰📌#Washington | #DC
⁰Watch dramatic new dashcam footage captured by a couple driving near… pic.twitter.com/BGknHeAy9a— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) January 30, 2025
There were 60 passengers and 4 crew members aboard the plane, as well as three soldiers onboard the Black Hawk helicopter. Multiple officials have since confirmed that there were no survivors of the crash from either aircraft.
“Sadly, there are no survivors. This was a dark and excruciating night in our nation’s capital and in our nation’s history and a tragedy of terrible proportions,” President Donald Trump said on Thursday afternoon.
President Trump on DCA helicopter-plane crash: "Sadly, there are no survivors. This was a dark and excruciating night in our nation's capitol and in our nation's history and a tragedy of terrible proportions." pic.twitter.com/ZzeXygwpAr
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 30, 2025
As of Thursday evening, investigations into the incident are still underway, but some details have since been revealed that have prompted concern — including the fact that the air traffic control tower at Reagan National Airport was severely understaffed, and had been that way for years.
According to an internal preliminary report from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), staffing at the air traffic control tower was “not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic.”
“The tower was nearly a third below targeted staff levels, with 19 fully certified controllers as of Sept. ***2023***… The shortage — caused by ***years*** of employee turnover and tight budgets, among other factors — has forced many controllers to work up to six days a week…” https://t.co/f78yCtL21j
— Jerry Dunleavy IV 🇺🇸 (@JerryDunleavy) January 30, 2025
The New York Times reported that the specific controller dealing with helicopters at the airport was also tasked with instructing airplanes that had been landing and departing — meaning that the individual was likely spread too thin, as these tasks are typically distributed between multiple people. The Reagan airport tower was roughly one-third below targeted staff levels, only having 19 fully certified controllers as of September 2023, according to an FAA workforce plan.
The outlet further confirmed that the Reagan National Airport air traffic control tower had been severely understaffed for several years, as there has been a nationwide shortage of controllers, forcing them to work long hours up to six days a week.
The shortage only served to confirm some of the comments from critics about the collision, as many have highlighted previous news stories about the FAA focusing more on diversity hiring and turning away white applicants, which was a shockingly bad decision amid a staff shortage.
They're going to tell you that air traffic controllers are overworked. Half-true. What they won't tell you is that the FAA has been turning away thousands of quality applicants because they aren't "diverse" enough – and many of the ones they've accepted are not qualified. https://t.co/6WZd34ziuh pic.twitter.com/aCemDxRO2X
— Patrick Casey (@restoreorderusa) January 30, 2025
The FAA’s discrimination under the Obama administration reportedly led to a massive lawsuit from 3,000 rejected applicants, as the FAA was caught pausing hiring in 2012 so that it could put an end to merit-based hiring rules and replace them with a “Biographical Assessment” strategy designed to hire more minorities. Under those ridiculous rules, playing four or more sports in high school was worth five points on the questionnaire, while having experience as a military air traffic controller was worth zero points and holding a pilot’s license was only worth two points. The lawsuit ultimately ended with the “Biographical Assessment” being terminated.
However, the lawsuit didn’t stop the Biden administration from continuing to place diversity over merit and safety — as even in 2024, the FAA was focused on recruiting applicants with targeted disabilities, including “hearing, vision, missing extremities, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, psychiatric disability and dwarfism.”
It is unclear if the diversity-over-merit focus directly contributed to the collision, though many are already putting forth that theory.
We don't know exactly what caused the Potomac crash. That's what investigations are for. But President Trump is absolutely correct that for years, across both the Obama and Biden administrations, Democrats put lives at risk by choosing to prioritize diversity over merit and… pic.twitter.com/U8CdSDPOqp
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) January 30, 2025
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will reportedly be releasing a preliminary report on the crash “within 30 days,” and a final report when the investigation is finished.
Newly-confirmed Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has also vowed to find answers about the collision.
“What happened today should never have happened. I want the families of the victims to know that they have my word: I will not rest until you have the truth,” Duffy wrote in a post thread on X.
(1/3) What happened today should never have happened. I want the families of the victims to know that they have my word: I will not rest until you have the truth.
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) January 30, 2025
“I will find answers to how this happened. I have directed every relevant agency to immediately investigate what went wrong, and I will not tolerate delays or bureaucratic excuses,” he added.
“If there was negligence, incompetence, or failure anywhere in the system, we will find it — and I will fix it. I will provide further updates as we uncover the facts,” Duffy concluded.
(3/3) If there was negligence, incompetence, or failure anywhere in the system, we will find it—and I will fix it.
I will provide further updates as we uncover the facts.
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) January 30, 2025