A preliminary safety report from the Federal Aviation Administration reportedly found that air traffic control staffing was abnormally low at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on the evening of Wednesday, Jan. 29, according to The New York Times, which obtained a copy of the report.

The FAA report revealed that a single controller was responsible for both managing helicopters in the airport's vicinity and directing arriving and departing planes.

The report, reviewed by The New York Times, said that one controller was communicating with both helicopters and planes. Those jobs are typically assigned to two people, not one.

Investigators analyze flight data to understand the crash between an American Airlines jet and a military helicopter and exactly what was going on before disaster struck.

The airspace around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport has long been problematic due to heavy military and commercial flight activity in the nation’s capital, according to industry insiders.

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) services both military helicopters and passenger planes every day.

There was no immediate word on casualties, but all takeoffs and landings from the airport near Washington have been halted.

According to the Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport website, three American Airlines flights between DCA and BTV were canceled for Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

It is being reported that staffing was “not normal” in the air traffic control tower at Washington Reagan National Airport during the time of the deadly plane crash on Wednesday night.

WASHINGTON D.C., DC — Multiple Texas representatives have released statements Wednesday night after a plane collided with a military helicopter, causing it to crash near the Ronald Reagan Washington National airport. Ronald Reagan Washington National airport has closed all runways, and stopped air traffic in the area.

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