FAA REPORT: Staffing At Reagan Control Tower Was Below Normal Standards.
The tragic plane crash at Reagan International Airport in Washington D.C. has people searching for answers while others play political gotcha games. But the fact is, mistakes were made. The FAA staffing at the Reagan control tower is one such issue.
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport has the busiest runaway in the US, with an average of 819 takeoffs per day – which experts say likely contributed to Wednesday’s air disaster.
The airport – also known as DCA – also has two other runways, launching 62 flights an hour, according to a 2023 report by the Alexandria Times.
It is in proximity to two other airports, including international Washington Dulles, and various military bases which also launch large volumes of aircraft, making for crowded airspace where precision is key.
“DCA is one of the most demanding airports in the world. It also has what’s known as ‘helicopter alley’ with hundreds of police, military, news and rescue helicopters criss-crossing the Potomac River – it’s crazy out there,” Captain Ross “Rusty” Aimer, a retired United Airlines pilot and aviation expert, told The Post.
Nearly 900 takeoffs a day is a LOT, and leads one to believe that there are nearly that same number of landings!
Which creates a high stress environment for the folks manning the control tower and herding airplanes through the landing and takeoff process. So one would assume that a very significant airport in Washington D.C. would be fully manned at all times, right? The FAA report says otherwise.
Related:
1 year ago 11 Republican Attorneys General wrote a letter to the Biden administration, expressing their frustration with the new DEI practices affecting the Federal Aviation Administration.
Nothing was ever done about their concerns by the Biden administration. pic.twitter.com/9O2UD1WXxS
— Insurrection Barbie (@DefiyantlyFree) January 30, 2025