Recovery efforts on the Potomac River continued Friday, with crews retrieving over 40 bodies from American Airlines Flight 5342, along with cockpit voice and flight data recorders. The crash was the deadliest aviation disaster in the U.S. since 2001.
A preliminary FAA report revealed that the control tower at Ronald Reagan National Airport was understaffed. One air traffic controller was allegedly handling two positions when a jetliner collided with an Army helicopter, killing 67 people Wednesday night.
The allegation of an insufficient number of air traffic controllers arises as the FAA faces a class-action lawsuit claiming it denied 1,000 prospective air traffic controllers jobs due to diversity hiring targets.
In May 2024, then President Biden signed a bill to reauthorize the FAA, which added five additional slots to Reagan Airport’s daily schedule, increasing traffic on the busiest runway in the country.
