Staffing at the Ronald Reagan National Airport air traffic control tower reportedly was "not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic" at the time an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter collided Wednesday.
An internal preliminary Federal Aviation Administration safety report, reviewed by The New York Times, said the controller handling helicopters in the airport's vicinity also was instructing planes that were landing and departing from its runways.
Those jobs normally are assigned to two controllers, the Times reported.
Some 67 people, including three soldiers and more than a dozen figure skaters, were killed after the collision near Washington, D.C.
The plane was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members at the time of the crash late Wednesday. Three soldiers were on board the helicopter.
President Donald Trump said at a briefing Thursday that there were no survivors.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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