According to a report, the management of commercial flights and military helicopters was combined on Wednesday night, leading up to a tragic collision.
Before the fatal crash, the responsibilities of overseeing helicopters and arriving flights at Reagan National Airport were merged, as reported.
The New York Times, citing an internal preliminary FAA safety report and a source familiar with the staffing situation.
Revealed that an air traffic controller’s supervisor assigned the dual duties sometime before the American Airlines flight collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River.
As per the Times, the supervisor made the decision to combine the air traffic control tasks before 9:30 p.m. and also allowed one air traffic controller to leave work early.