Staffing Levels at Reagan Airport Traffic Control Tower Were 'Not Normal' on Night of Crash, FAA Finds: Report

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.

The collision, near the Washington, D.C., airport, involved a U.S. Army Black Hawk Helicopter colliding with an American Airlines commercial flight, resulting in the presumed death of 67 people.

The preliminary FAA report states that staffing at the Ronald Reagan National Airport’s air traffic control tower was “not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic.”

Related: Figure-Skating Sisters Everly and Alydia Livingston, Ages 11 and 14, Among the Victims of American Airlines Plane Crash

The report says the control tower usually has two control officers, with helicopters and airplanes working with separate officers. But on Wednesday night, there was only one officer.

This presents potential complications, because the radio frequencies used to communicate with airplane pilots can be different than those used to communicate with helicopter pilots, per the NYT. Therefore, when the controller is communicating with pilots of the both the helicopter and the plane, the two sets of pilots may not be able to hear each other.

National Transportation Safety Board member Todd Inman said at a press conference on Thursday, Jan. 30, that the office has “not reviewed any specific reports.” 

Related: Air Traffic Controller Asked Black Hawk Helicopter If It Had American Airlines Jet 'in Sight' Seconds Before Crash: Report

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Concerns about safety at the airport had been growing in recent years, according to a 2023 NYT investigation.

The report found a troubling rise in near collisions between flights, driven in part by staffing shortages.

PEOPLE has reached out to the FAA for further information.

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