FAA announces new staffing measures for Reagan National following midair collision
The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday announced a series of new staffing measures for Reagan National Airport, including increasing support for its air traffic controller team, in response to the January midair collision between an American Airlines flight and an Army Black Hawk helicopter that killed 67 people.
Following recommendations made by the National Transportation Safety Board last month to address safety risks at Reagan National, the FAA said it is evaluating current aircraft arrival rates at the Washington, D.C., area airport.
The FAA said it found DCA's arrival rate, a measure of the number of aircraft that arrive per hour, to be "disproportionately concentrated within the last 30 minutes of each hour."
The agency is also sending a critical incident stress management team this month to "support the well-being of controllers." The CISM team will be offering "confidential support for staff following stressful events," the FAA said.
The FAA said it will also conduct regular wellness checks at the facility, increase supervisor staffing from six personnel to eight, and review the airport's certified professional controller staffing numbers.
According to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Washington Reagan's main runway is the busiest in the U.S., with more than 800 daily takeoffs and landings.
The new safety measures come about a week after a fight broke out between employees inside the air traffic control tower.
Police said they were called to the DCA tower on March 27 because of the fight. Officers arrested 39-year-old Damon Gaines of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, according to Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority police. He is facing charges of assault and battery.
Government payroll records online identified Gaines as an air traffic controller. He is on administrative leave while the matter is investigated, the FAA said, and Gaines did not respond to CBS News' request for comment.
On the same day as the fight, Chris Rocheleau, the acting head of the FAA testified before senators that "something was missed" as he explained what led to the Jan. 29 midair collision, the deadliest U.S. aviation disaster since 2001.
And on the afternoon of March 28, there was a close call between a Delta Air Lines flight bound for Minneapolis which had just taken off from Reagan National, and an Air Force jet. Both aircraft continued to their destinations. The FAA is investigating the incident.
