A critical shortage of air traffic controllers at Ronald Reagan National Airport may have played a role in Wednesday night’s deadly midair collision, according to a preliminary Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety report reviewed by The New York Times.

The findings expose alarming staffing deficiencies that have long plagued the airport’s control tower, raising urgent questions about aviation safety in one of the nation’s busiest airspaces.

According to the report, the tower was operating with staffing levels that were “not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic.” The controller managing helicopters in the area was also responsible for instructing planes taking off and landing—two roles that are typically assigned to separate controllers due to the complexity and high stakes of each task.

The strain on the controller was more than just a matter of workload; it introduced a critical communication gap. Helicopter pilots and jet pilots often operate on different radio frequencies, meaning they may not hear each other’s instructions. This creates a perilous blind spot in an environment where split-second decisions can mean the difference between a routine landing and catastrophe.

The issue is not new. Like much of the nation’s air traffic control system, Reagan National’s tower has been chronically understaffed for years. A damning FAA workforce report from September 2023 revealed that the airport had just 19 fully certified controllers—far short of the 30 needed to operate safely. That means nearly a third of the positions remain unfilled, forcing remaining staff to work grueling schedules of up to six days a week, often clocking 10-hour shifts.

The causes of the shortage are manifold—years of high turnover, budget constraints, and a dwindling pipeline of new hires. But as the tragic incident at Reagan National shows, the consequences of inaction are becoming harder to ignore.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)