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Hundreds of FAA workers were fired weeks after deadly DC crash, union says, as Trump promises aviation safety upgrades

17 February 2025 at 10:05
Memorial crosses for the American Airlines crash victims with a plane in the background.
Trump's move to fire hundreds of FAA employees comes weeks after the fatal American Airlines plane crash in Washington, DC.

ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP

  • Hundreds of FAA probationary employees were fired over the weekend, their union said.
  • The firings, which include air traffic control staff, come as the agency faces staffing shortages.
  • The FAA is the latest government agency to be impacted by Trump's aims to cut federal spending.

Hundreds of Federal Aviation Administration employees have been fired, according to their union, just weeks after a deadly Washington, DC, plane crash.

The firings were carried out "without cause" and were not based on employees' "performance or conduct," the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists said in a February 15 statement.

Some employees received a termination email on Friday, and the union said it is possible that others received termination emails over the weekend or could be "literally barred from entering FAA buildings" when they return to work on Tuesday.

The union said the emails were sent from an 'exec order' Microsoft email address, not a .gov address.

The White House, FAA, and the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists did not respond to requests for comment on Monday.

The White House's move to reduce the FAA workforce comes after a military helicopter collided with an American Airlines passenger plane outside Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in January, killing 67 people. The tragedy underscored staffing challenges within the FAA and potential safety shortcomings in federal aviation policy.

Following the crash, Trump promised to make "rapid" improvements to US air travel, while also blaming the the crash on the FAA's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on February 16 that "President Trump has ordered that I deliver a new, world-class air traffic control system that will be the envy of the world."

Aviation industry leaders have warned that long-standing understaffing within the FAA could put future airline operations at risk.

"This draconian action will increase the workload and place new responsibilities on a workforce that is already stretched thin," said David Spero, National President of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, in the February 15 statement.

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association also told Business Insider that it is "analyzing the effect of the reported federal employee terminations on aviation safety."

The FAA workforce includes thousands of government employees at all levels of aviation, including systems specialists, safety inspectors, mechanics, air traffic control, and administrative staff. Probationary employees, who the union said have been most impacted by the firings, are typically new hires.

The FAA is one of many government agencies to face staffing cuts from Trump and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.

Thousands of employees at the Agency for International Development, the Office of Personnel Management, the Forest Service, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and more have received similar termination notices in recent weeks as the administration vows to slash federal spending.

Are you an FAA employee or an affected federal worker? If so, reach out to this reporter on a non-work device at allisonkelly@businessinsider.com or on the secure messaging app Signal at alliekelly.10

Read the original article on Business Insider

The final minutes of American Airlines flight 5342

31 January 2025 at 13:22
The PSA Airlines plane in the Potomac River after it collided midair with an Army Black Hawk helicopter.
The American Airlines flight that crashed on Wednesday was given a runway change minutes before colliding midair with a military helicopter.

Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

  • The American Airlines jet that crashed in DC was given a runway change minutes before the tragedy.
  • Audio tapes show the military helicopter had the passenger plane "in sight" before the collision.
  • The NTSB will look at pilot and air traffic control actions when investigating the crash.

In the minutes before an American Airlines flight crashed into the Potomac River in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, an air traffic controller requested a last-minute runway change.

The regional jet, operated by PSA Airlines, was descending over Virginia and headed for the north-facing "Mount Vernon Visual Runway 1" approach at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Pilots had confirmed their approach to air traffic controllers at the airport tower around 8:42 p.m.

Moments later, a controller reported high crosswinds on Runway 1 and asked the pilots to shift to the intersecting runway.

"Bluestreak 5342 Washington Tower winds are 320 at 17, gusts 25. Can you take Runway 33?" the controller said. Bluestreak is the call sign for PSA flights.

The pilots agreed, and within minutes, the plane collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter. All 67 people on board both aircraft died.

Business Insider reviewed official briefings, flight data, and air traffic control audio recordings to piece together what happened before tragedy struck.

The plane and helicopter's final moments of flight

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is an extremely busy airspace, but officials said it was a largely normal night of flying. Winds were gusty β€” something pilots are trained for β€” and the skies were clear.

The American flight had been approaching from the south, following the Potomac River along a well-known path for pilots and frequent flyers of the DC area.

The narrow corridor helps separate traffic from highly secure airspace around the White House, Pentagon, and other government buildings.

The Mount Vernon Visual Runway 1 flight path and the DCA Airport Diagram.
Runway 1 and Runway 33 are both north-facing, though the latter faces more Northwest.

Federal Aviation Administration

Seconds before the American flight agreed to change its path, another PSA jet responded to the same request to shift to Runway 33 as "unable," meaning it was not in a position to make the adjustment.

That flight, from Montgomery, Alabama, landed on Runway 1 as planned and continued to its gate.

The PSA pilots of flight 5342 accepting the change is not unusual. Runway 33 is a shorter strip that faces Northwest and can handle a regional aircraft like the Bombardier CRJ700 the pilots were flying.

The switch-up required the plane to move from its north-facing heading toward the Potomac's east bank before swinging back over the river to land.

At approximately 8:43 p.m., flight 5342 was cleared to land.

At the same time as the crew of flight 5342 was prepping for the new runway, an Army Black Hawk helicopter was making its way south along the river's eastern shore, following a standard, published path known as "Route 4."

The helicopter flight routes at DCA.
Helicopter flight Route 4 runs along the east shore of the Potomac River south of Reagan Washington National. Helicopters are only allowed to fly up to 200 feet in altitude here.

Federal Aviation Administration

Several of these channels cut through the DC area, allowing military aircraft to coexist with commercial traffic in and out of airports.

At about 8:47 p.m., a controller asked the helicopter, call sign PAT25, if they had "the CRJ in sight" and to pass behind it. The CRJ refers to the regional CRJ700 aircraft operated by PSA.

The helicopter pilot confirmed that they had the "aircraft in sight" and requested "visual separation."

Just seconds later, gasps from controllers can be heard on the audio tapes. ATC began canceling flight landings and diverting planes from National.

DC fire chief John Donnelly said emergency vehicles were on the scene by 8:58 p.m. to begin rescue operations.

Human factors are just one consideration for investigators

At a briefing Thursday, officials from the National Transportation Safety Board said teams will examine human factors as they piece together a complete picture of the crash.

"They will study the crew performance and all of the actions and factors that might be involved in human error, including fatigue, medication, medical histories, training, workload, equipment design, and work environment," NTSB member Todd Inman said. They'll also be combing through the wreckage and other evidence for clues as to what went wrong.

A preliminary FAA report obtained by the New York Times and others said staffing at National's ATC tower was "not normal" at the time of the crash. The outlet reported that the controller was handling the duties of two people, including directing helicopters in the area and passenger planes landing and taking off.

Inman said during a Friday press conference that an air traffic controller group will be conducting interviews over the next several days for the NTSB's investigation.

The NTSB official added that the black boxes from both aircraft, which will provide key insights into the moments leading up to the collision, were recovered.

Brian Alexander, a military helicopter pilot and a partner at aviation accident firm Kreindler & Kreindler, told BI that the nighttime conditions, many aircraft lights, and busy skies may have contributed to the catastrophe.

"There was another jet on final, a couple of other jets on final, and it's conceivable the helicopter pilot was watching the wrong aircraft," he said, emphasizing that was speculation at this point.

NTSB official Todd Inman at DCA airport.
The NTSB said the PSA plane's two black boxes, which are actually orange, have been recovered.

Al Drago/Getty Images

An airline pilot previously told BI that flying in and out of National was like "threading a needle" due to the highly restricted corridors and heavy traffic, including low-flying helicopters.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a former Black Hawk pilot, told reporters that military pilots generally wouldn't talk directly to PSA pilots on the radio, but "everyone's listening on the same frequency."

She said the PSA plane would know that the Black Hawk was in the area but would be relying on ATC as the intermediary.

"Did one of the aircraft stray away latitude, sideways in the airspace from the route that they were supposed to be on? Was the Black Hawk higher than the 200 feet?" Duckworth said. "These are all things that the accident investigators would be looking at."

The NTSB said its preliminary report is expected to be published within 30 days.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Washington, DC, plane crash thrusts high-stakes role of air traffic control into the spotlight

30 January 2025 at 13:50
American Airlines crash with capitol in background.
The American Airlines crash has brought into question the safety and complexities of air traffic control.

Al Drago/Getty Images

  • An American Airlines flight collided with a helicopter, raising questions about air traffic control.
  • Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a former Black Hawk pilot, said military and civilian pilots usually do not speak directly to each other.
  • The FAA faces a shortage of controllers, impacting high-traffic areas like Washington DC.

The crash of an American Airlines flight in Washington, DC, has renewed anxiety about air-traffic control staffing and procedures at US airports, especially in crowded airspaces.

As investigators began to piece together how a military helicopter collided with the regional jet, questions swirled about communication between the pilots and Reagan National Airport's control tower.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an ex-Army Black Hawk helicopter pilot, told reporters that military aircraft usually do not talk directly to commercial pilots, as ATC is the responsible intermediary.

"Everybody's listening on the same frequency," she said, adding that the American flight that crashed would have been aware of the Black Hawk helicopter in the skies. "You are listening to instructions from ATC. ATC is telling you what to do."

Duckworth said an FAA briefing involving ATC tapes revealed the helicopter pilots were told about the passenger plane, and the crew confirmed "at least twice" that they had the jet in sight before the crash.

She added that the American flight was cleared to land and would have had the "right of way" and that the Black Hawk was told to pass behind. The flight was in visual flight conditions, meaning the helicopter would be visually searching for the plane.

"They would be looking up to try to find this aircraft, pick it out of the sky as it's coming in for a landing," she said.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, some military and civil aircraft, if equipped, can talk to each other using specific emergency frequencies. This is usually reserved for distress situations where immediate communication is necessary. It's unclear if the Black Hawk was equipped.

"[The Black Hawk's] flight path should have been hugging the east bank of the Potomac River, so they should not have been within the flight path of that landing aircraft," she said. "Did one of the aircraft stray away latitude, sideways in the airspace from the route that they were supposed to be on?"

National Transportation Safety Board member Todd Inman said the DC area is a unique environment for helicopters and that the Black Hawk was transitioning zones at the time of the crash. ATC is one of the "human factors" the agency will examine as part of its investigation, he said.

Air traffic control is a complex system with many moving parts and no room for errors

The national air traffic system in the US is immense in both size and complexity, 14,000 air traffic controllers handle upwards of 45,000 flights a day across 29 million miles of airspace.

It's an intricate network that includes hundreds of regional and area control centers, each responsible for a specific piece of airspace.

A pilot flying from San Francisco to Washington, DC, for example, could interact with more than 20 different controllers during the flight.

The job is infamous for its high stress and heavy workload, which can involve managing upwards of a dozen flights at a time.

These stressors are amplified for airports like Ronald Reagan National. The airport has strict flight paths and altitude restrictions. It handles more than 25 million passengers a year and is located in highly trafficked and highly controlled airspace, as it is near the White House, Pentagon, and other government buildings.

The airport has seen multiple near misses recently, including a Southwest Airlines flight that was instructed to cross the same runway on which a JetBlue plane was starting its take-off.

A month later, an American Airlines flight was cleared for takeoff at the same time another plane was given the go-ahead to land on an intersecting runway.

Controllers working the airspace in and around Reagan National also have to handle an extraordinary amount of private and military aircraft that operate in the area.

The situation is exacerbated by a shortage of around 3,000 air traffic controllers, which the FAA has worked to address with plans to hire 1,800 controllers in 2024 and 2,000 this year.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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