A preliminary investigation into the deadly Washington D.C. plane crash found that staffing levels in the air traffic control tower were "not normal" at the time of the collision.
The Federal Aviation Administration's report determined that one air traffic controller was essentially doing the job of two people.
"The position configuration was not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic," the report says.
Usually, two individuals are monitoring helicopter and plane traffic separately, but those jobs were combined after a supervisor left their shift early, according to reports.
A single person normally performs both roles when traffic slows down at night, but it was still too early when the air traffic tower lost essential manpower before the 8:48 p.m. collision.
The crash killed all 67 people, including 64 on board an American Airlines flight and three soldiers in a Black Hawk helicopter.
In the wake of the tragedy, many are looking at a chronic shortage of qualified air traffic controllers as a factor leading up to the disaster.
The air traffic tower at Reagan National Airport has 19 fully certified air traffic controllers, less than the 30 recommended by the FAA and the Air Traffic Controllers Union.
An air traffic controller shortage had been a concern leading up to the crash, as an uptick in near misses led to fears of a disaster like the tragedy that occurred Wednesday night.
The focus on understaffing could boost President Trump's suggestion that lowered standards contributed to the collision.
The president has been criticized for speculating that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policy played a role, but race-based hiring under the Obama and Biden administrations may have worsened the staffing shortage.
The FAA is facing a class-action lawsuit from job applicants who allege they were discriminated against based on race. The lead plaintiff in the case, who is white, was turned away despite getting a perfect score on his training exam.
“He [Trump] obviously sees the issue at hand and if he didn’t, I’m sure people that work in the Department of Transportation and the FAA informed him that there is an issue with staffing and air traffic control and I’m hoping they can work on it immediately,” the man, Andrew Brigida, told the Telegraph.
Meanwhile, investigators have told numerous outlets that the Black Hawk helicopter did not follow the approved flight path. The helicopter traveled above 300 feet, well above the 200-foot limit.
"The Blackhawk helicopter was flying too high, by a lot," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "It was far above the 200 foot limit. That's not really too complicated to understand, is it???"
