According to a report, on Wednesday night, the responsibilities of managing the arrival of commercial flights and military helicopters were combined.
Prior to a fatal collision, Reagan National Airport’s air traffic control duties for helicopters and arriving aircraft were merged on Wednesday evening, according to a report.
According to the New York Times, which cited an internal preliminary FAA safety report and a source briefed on staffing, an air traffic controller’s supervisor assigned them both responsibilities sometime before an American Airlines flight collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River.
According to the Times, an air traffic control supervisor on Wednesday combined those responsibilities sometime before 9:30 p.m. and permitted one air traffic controller to leave work early.
