Wednesday night’s fatal crash at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport involving a commercial airplane and a Black Hawk military helicopter has drawn renewed attention to air traffic controllers and what role they may have played in the accident that is believed to have killed 67 people.
Amid increased concerns about aviation safety, here's how many air traffic controllers there are in the U.S., and how the hiring process works.
Brendan Carr, the President Trump-appointed FCC chairman, warned the CEOs of PBS and NPR that they “could be violating federal law by airing commercials” — and that he has ordered an investigation by the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau into the matter. For decades, PBS and NPR have engaged in the practice of airing underwriter acknowledgements to …
Air traffic control audio recorded the moments before and after an American Airlines regional passenger jet crashedwith a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter in a midair collision over Washington on Wednesday night.
A 2023 report determined that over 99% of American airports lacked critical air traffic control staffing. Aggressively recruiting qualified employees was a top priority for transportation officials under President Joe Biden, but policy reversals last week pumped the brakes on hirings.
One air traffic controller was reportedly working two tower positions at the time of Wednesday's fatal crash near D.C.
Retired commercial airline pilot Scott Pattillo and aviation attorney Michael Pearson explain why control systems are at a 'breaking point' on 'The Ingraham Angle.'
At a news conference, Trump read a list of conditions he called disqualifying, but his administration started such hiring in 2019.
A source tells NBC News that, according to a preliminary FAA report, a single air traffic controller was handling both planes and helicopters when the crash occurred. Normally at the D.C. tower at that time of day and for the volume of air traffic,
PAT-25, do you have the CRJ in sight?” the controller asks the helicopter pilot, according to audio posted by the Associated Press.
It will be some time before investigators can offer clear answers to the cause of the midair crash at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport but air traffic controller audio and radar reviewed by NPR offer some insight into what happened before.