On Jan. 29, 67 people were killed when an American Airlines passenger jet and Army Black Hawk helicopter collided over Washington, D.C.’s Potomac River after being on similar flight paths. Just two days later, a small medical jet took off in northeast Philadelphia and climbed 1,500 feet before taking an unexpected nose dive into a nearby neighborhood, killing seven.
Both left the American public reeling about the state of the nation’s airspace and demanding explanations for the tragedies. New data from one of the crashes points to a perpetrator — a dangerous shortage of air traffic controllers.
According to an internal preliminary FAA report on the collision near Ronald Reagan National Airport, staffing was “not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic.”
Hours before the crash, an air control supervisor allowed an employee to leave early, merging a two-person job of monitoring plane and helicopter traffic into one, the report says. Just 24 of 28 positions — roughly 85% — are staffed at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport’s control towers, an air traffic control source tells CNN.
“They were probably spread too thin,” said Peter Goelz, the former National Transportation Safety Board managing director. “And the reality is, this kind of sharing, or you know doubling up, is not uncommon. But should it happen? The answer is, no.”
Air traffic controllers have historically been in short supply. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association, a labor union aviation safety organization, has raised flags about the issue for over a decade.
Why are hiring rates are so low? Applicants have to undergo a rigorous, months-long training program and need two to four years of experience before full certification. Once onboarded, they often find themselves working 10-hour days and six-day workweeks for a starting salary of $60,000. A regular day in the field requires air traffic controllers to react quickly to ever-changing airspace conditions while bearing the responsibility of aircraft and passenger safety.
Recognizing how stressful the job can be, the FAA has a mandatory retirement age of 56 for all controllers.
“Part and parcel to the job comes higher rates of divorce, higher rates of alcoholism and even higher rates of suicide,” emphasized Goelz. “This is a hard job.”
