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By Anna Commander
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One air traffic controller was working at the time of the fatal midair collision near Washington, D.C.'s Ronald Reagan National Airport on Wednesday, according to a report from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) obtained by the Associated Press.
Newsweek reached out to the FAA on Thursday via email for comment.
The Context
In a press briefing about the crash on Thursday, President Donald Trump took aim at Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives and also spoke about air traffic controllers.
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"We have to have our smartest people. It doesn't matter what they look like, how they speak, who they are, it matters intellect, talent. The word talent. You have to be talented, naturally talented geniuses. You can't have regular people doing that job," Trump said about the controllers. "They won't be able to do it."
Many on social media questioned whether Trump's freeze on hiring federal employees would impact air traffic controllers.
On Inauguration Day, U.S. Transportation Security Administration Chief David Pekoske was removed from office as Trump's new administration took over. Pekoske was responsible for roughly 60,000 personnel as the administrator, overseeing the public's travel and transportation systems. The TSA's website shows administrator and deputy administrator vacancies as of Thursday evening.
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What To Know
The crash occurred before 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday night, involving a CRJ700 regional jet from Wichita, Kansas and a Sikorsky H-60 military helicopter. In an emailed response to Newsweek on Wednesday night, American Airlines confirmed "60 passengers and four crew members on board the aircraft."
The search and rescue mission moved to a recovery effort on Thursday as the exact number of casualties was immediately unknown. It is believed, however, that there are no survivors. The military helicopter was carrying three soldiers on board.
An FAA report obtained by the Associated Press said that one air traffic controller was coordinating helicopter traffic and arriving and departing planes at the airport when the incident occurred, which is "not normal."
However, a person familiar with the matter told the AP that overall staffing at the air traffic control tower was typical that night—one person takes over "when controllers need to step away from the console for breaks, are in the process of a shift change, or air traffic is slow," the AP reported.
The New York Times also reported, citing an internal report, that one air traffic controller was "handling helicopters in the airport's vicinity" and "instructing planes that were landing and departing from its runways."
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said in a news conference on Thursday that the NTSB will look at humans, machines and the environment as it relates to their investigation into the crash.
"We have not recovered the flight data recorders yet," Homendy said. "We know they're there. They are underwater. This is not unusual for the NTSB, we have many times recovered flight data recorders in water."
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What People Are Saying
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, on X: "Despicable. As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying. We put safety first, drove down close calls, grew Air Traffic Control, and had zero commercial airline crash fatalities out of millions of flights on our watch.
"President Trump now oversees the military and the FAA. One of his first acts was to fire and suspend some of the key personnel who helped keep our skies safe. Time for the President to show actual leadership and explain what he will do to prevent this from happening again."
CNN's Omar Jimenez, on X: "There was one air traffic controller working two different tower positions at the time of the collision Wednesday night."
CNN's Pete Muntean, on X: "NEWS: *ONE* air traffic controller was working two different DCA control tower positions at the time of Wednesday night's midair collision, an ATC source tells me. The source describes the set-up—which had one person handling both local and helicopter traffic—as not uncommon."
Newly sworn-in Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, on X: "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. 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. 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."
New York Congressman Richie Torres, on X: "The FAA has 3000 fewer air traffic controllers than it needs to operate effectively. There are air traffic control centers whose staffing levels fall short by as much as 60%. In the case of the latest tragedy, one air traffic controller had the workload of two controllers. President Trump's hiring freeze on air traffic controllers will only deepen the workforce shortages that have put aviation safety at risk. He should rescind it."
What Happens Next
Local, state and federal authorities remain on the scene, facilitating recovery efforts and beginning the investigation into the crash.
Update 1/30/25, 6:07 p.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information and a new headline.
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