Washington DC plane crash live: staffing at Reagan airport air traffic control reportedly ‘not normal’ at time of collision | Washington DC plane crash
Staffing at Reagan airport air traffic control ‘not normal’ at time of collision – report
Staffing at Ronald Reagan National airport’s air traffic control tower was “not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic”, according to an internal preliminary FAA safety report about the crash reported by the New York Times.
According to the outlet, the controller who was handling helicopters was also instructing planes that were landing and departing from the tarmacs.
The New York Times reports:
This increases the workload for the air traffic controller and can complicate the job. One reason is that the controllers can use different radio frequencies to communicate with pilots flying planes and pilots flying helicopters. While the controller is communicating with pilots of the helicopter and the jet, the two sets of pilots may not be able to hear each other.
Key events
‘Disgusting…disgraceful…racist’: Congressional Black Caucus on Trump’s comments
New York congresswoman Yvette Clark, the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, released a statement in response to Donald Trump’s comments blaming “diversity, equity and inclusion” efforts for yesterday’s deadly plane crash.
….the opportunity to fully focus our sympathies on those who are in mourning and who may not have even retrieved their dearly departed was marred by a truly disgusting and disgraceful display of racist political prognostication. President Trump, without evidence or regard for the gravity and solemnity of this incident in which American lives were lost, held a press conference to falsely blame the diversity initiatives of past administrations for the cause of this incident. Not only are the President’s claims untrue, they also speak to the Republican Party’s desire to divide us as a country.
To be clear, diversity, equity, and inclusion are American values. Diversity policies work to benefit all Americans who have traditionally been kept out of opportunities, including white women, veterans, and aging Americans, not just the Black and minority communities that Trump and Republicans want to scapegoat and villainize for political gain. We are not going back!”
The US army has seen an increase in serious aviation incidents
In fiscal year 2024, the army saw 15 flight and two ground incidents that were categorized as very serious, according to safety data obtained by The Associated Press through the Freedom of Information Act and a January 2025 Army aviation safety report.
What the army calls “Class A incidents” are any aviation accident that results in the destruction of the aircraft, deaths of service members or more than $2.5 million in damage to the airframe, the Associated Press reported.
In a briefing with Pentagon reporters Thursday, Army aviation Chief of Staff Jonathan Koziol said the spike in incidents last year had prompted the Army to do a safety stand-down, in which units pause flight operations to evaluate safety procedures “to not allow these types of incidents to happen,” the Associated Press reported.
Repeating unverified claims, Trump signs order rolling back diversity initiatives
Trump said his new presidential memorandum on aviation safety will undo “damage” done to related federal agencies by the diversity initiatives under the Biden administration, the Associated Press reported.
The president singled out policies meant to promote diversity and inclusion by the Biden White House and of the administrations of other Democrats, saying, “What they’ve done is disgraceful.”
Signing the memorandum in the Oval Office, Trump repeated — without evidence — his assertions at a press conference today that federal diversity programs contributed to a helicopter and a regional jet colliding near Washington, D.C. Trump said the memorandum can help ensure that “we have very strong people running” key aviation agencies.
Selina Wang of ABC News reported that the memorandum ordered “an immediate assessment of aviation safety” and also “an elevation of ‘competence’ over ‘DEI.’”
Martin Pengelly
The Reagan airport crash was the first major air disaster in the US since 2009.
Addressing reporters, Donald Trump blamed the crash on his political enemies, and on diversity, equity and inclusion policies at the FAA.
Chris Murphy, the Democratic senator from Connecticut, called those remarks “disgusting”.
Saying it would take time to find out why the crash happened, Murphy added: “There are some true things: President Trump forced out of office the administrator of the FAA. He’s been waging a regular assault on public employees since he came into office. He forced the entire aviation security [advisory committee] to step down … We don’t know whether those things had anything to do with this crash, but we should take the time to get to the facts.”
Martin Pengelly
Questions swirled in Washington on Thursday as the Federal Aviation Administration began its investigation of the Reagan airport crash without a permanent leader – its former chief resigned 10 days ago, after Elon Musk, the SpaceX CEO and close adviser to Donald Trump, called for him to quit.
Michael Whitaker, a 30-year aviation industry veteran, was unanimously confirmed as FAA administrator by the Senate in October 2023. He resigned last Monday, the day Trump was inaugurated as president.
On Wednesday night, a military Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines jet. On Thursday, as bodies were removed from the Potomac River, officials said all 67 people who had been on board the two aircraft were dead.
Upon Sean Duffy, Trump’s new secretary of transportation, being asked: “Is there an acting FAA director?”, he walked away from reporters. Trump named Chris Rocheleau, who had a long career with the FAA after joining it in 1996, as acting FAA administrator until a permanent choice is confirmed by the Senate.
The National Business Aviation Association, which Rocheleau led before returning to the FAA, hailed “an outstanding leader who will be good for the FAA, good for aviation and good for the country, especially at this challenging time”.
Rocheleau was reported to have been back at the FAA last week. But according to Reuters, “the FAA for 10 days has declined to say who was running the agency on an acting basis”.
On Thursday, Musk’s clashes with the FAA and Whitaker were back in the headlines. Musk’s anger grew from commercial interests including competition with Boeing for government contracts. In 2022, the FAA fined Starlink, a SpaceX subsidiary, for violations of safety protocols. Musk also said the agency needed “radical reform” and complained that it was “harassing SpaceX”.
In September 2024, Whitaker proposed fines of more than $600,000 for SpaceX, over alleged violations of its government license with two rocket launches. Musk, the world’s richest person, worth more than $400bn, said: “He needs to resign.”
Whitaker might have agreed with Musk about the need for FAA reform, as he confronted challenges including run-down facilities and staff shortages contributing to a morale crisis among air traffic controllers.
But in December, after Trump defeated Joe Biden, Whitaker said he would quit. He told staff: “As I conclude my time at the FAA, my confidence in you to meet our safety mission has never been stronger.”
Staffing at Reagan airport air traffic control ‘not normal’ at time of collision – report
Staffing at Ronald Reagan National airport’s air traffic control tower was “not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic”, according to an internal preliminary FAA safety report about the crash reported by the New York Times.
According to the outlet, the controller who was handling helicopters was also instructing planes that were landing and departing from the tarmacs.
The New York Times reports:
This increases the workload for the air traffic controller and can complicate the job. One reason is that the controllers can use different radio frequencies to communicate with pilots flying planes and pilots flying helicopters. While the controller is communicating with pilots of the helicopter and the jet, the two sets of pilots may not be able to hear each other.
“We have not reviewed any specific reports about the controllers at this time, at least from the leadership team. Our investigators are continuing to pull all that information, their personnel records, their files, where they were at, whether they were fatigued,” NTSB board member J Todd Inman said.
“All that information will be part of that investigative process, but right now, we can’t speculate on anything that may [be] report[ed] in the media until we get the opportunity to validate and understand how it impacts the investigation,” he added.
Investigators says they haven’t recovered black boxes yet
“Our intention is to have a preliminary report within 30 days, and the final report will be issued once we’ve completed all of our fact-finding and investigation,” the NTSB said.
“We have not recovered the flight data recorders yet. We know they’re there. They are underwater. This is not unusual for the NTSB. We have many times recovered flight data recorders underwate.”
J Todd Inman, a board member of the NTSB, is now speaking at the press conference.
“It is only the NTSB that will provide information related to this investigation, with one exception regarding the fatalities that occurred. That notification will be handled by the DC medical examiner, we will not be discussing fatalities or names that will be handled by them as the proper authority,” he said.
Jennifer Homendy of the NTSB, which is responsible for investigating civil transport accidents in the US, is now speaking at a press conference about the collision.
“I want to start by expressing our deepest condolences or sympathies on behalf of the entire board for those who lost loved ones in this terrible tragedy. Our thoughts, our prayers are with you, entire communities were affected, and we are thinking of you,” she said.
She added: “We are not going to get into specific facts – we are going to get into our investigative process. This is a whole-of-government process.”
The International Skating Union president Jae Youl Kim has released the following statement on the plane-helicopter collision, saying:
Today, the world of Figure Skating is heartbroken. We share our deepest, most sincere condolences with the families and friends of all those who lost their lives in this terrible crash. To lose so many members of our community in this way brings sadness beyond words.
The ISU said it was in close contact with US Figure Skating and stands ready to offer its full support during this unimaginably difficult time.
The Professional Aviation Safety Specialists has released the following statement on the plane-helicopter collision:
As are many in the tight-knit aviation community, PASS is shocked and saddened by the collision over National Airport in Washington, DC last night. It appears there were no survivors among the passengers and crew aboard American Eagle Flight 5342 and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter.
With heartfelt compassion, we mourn the lives of all the souls who perished last night and send our sympathies to their loved ones. PASS extends its deepest condolences to our fellow unions—the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA and the Air Line Pilots Association—who lost crew members in the crash. PASS represents many Army veterans at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Defense.
They are saddened to see three of their own killed during a training exercise.Before anyone speculates on the cause of the crash, the union asks that everyone allow first responders to continue their recovery mission and federal investigators to do their critical jobs. PASS stands ready to assist the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board with their probe into the accident and to continue to improve the world’s largest, safest and most complex air traffic control system.
Joanna Walters
A number of mainstream media outlets have named the pilot and first officer on the American Eagle flight that crashed as Jonathan Campos and Sam Lilley.
CNN, the Daily Mail, Fox and some local media have identified the two men and the Guardian is working on verifying the names itself.
Campos was just 34 and Lilley was only 28, it was reported.
From video, there appeared to be no discernible deviation in the lines that the Bombardier jet the two men were flying and the Black Hawk helicopter that the army was flying took before the collision and resulting fireball last night.
Lilley’s father Timothy talked of losing his son. “It hurts so bad I cannot even cry myself to sleep,” CNN reported.
Michael Sainato
The statement issued by Greg Regan and Shari Semelsberger, president and secretary-treasurer of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), continues:
“As a nation, we are in mourning. From our capital city to Kansas and beyond, the news of Flight 5342 weighs heavy on the hearts of our citizens. We are forever grateful for the rescue and recovery efforts of emergency responders, including the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) members, who battled the icy waters of the Potomac throughout the night.”
They added: “We are also thinking of our nation’s dedicated air traffic control workforce, represented by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), and the essential work they do every day to keep our flying skies safe.
“The days and weeks ahead are unthinkable for the individuals whose lives have been forever altered by this tragedy. Yet, we are a land of survivors. As we wait for the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration to conclude its investigation, we urge everyone to refrain from speculating and to let the facts guide our path forward.”
Michael Sainato
The leaders of the transportation labor federation that represents aviation unions and workers across America have released a statement on the crash:
Greg Regan and Shari Semelsberger, president and secretary-treasurer of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), repsonded to the mid-air collision of American Eagle flight 5342, en route from Wichita, Kansas, to Washington DC, and a military helicopter on a routine training flight near Ronald Reagan National airport.
The statement said:
“Yesterday, America experienced the darkest day in aviation history since the fatal Colgan Air plane crash in 2009. We are devastated by the loss of all 64 souls onboard Flight 5342, including 60 passengers and 4 crew members, as well as the three service members aboard the Black Hawk helicopter. Our hearts are with the families, friends, and loved ones of all who perished. May their memories be a blessing.”
It continued: “The aviation industry is widely unionized, and a loss of this magnitude is felt across our entire labor family. An injury to one is an injury to all. We extend our deepest condolences to our siblings at the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), whose members were crewing the plane.
“Our sympathies are also with the United Association (UA) Steamfitters Local 602, who had four members on the flight, as well as the global figure skating community, whose skaters, coaches, and loved ones were also among the victims.”
There’s more to come from this statement.
