#USA #NYC #AirtrafficControl #Austerity "Staffing at the air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan National Airport was “not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic,” according to an internal preliminary Federal Aviation Administration safety report about the collision that was reviewed by The New York Times.

The controller who was handling helicopters in the airport’s vicinity Wednesday night was also instructing planes that were landing and departing from its runways. Those jobs typically are assigned to two controllers, rather than one.

This increases the workload for the air traffic controller and can complicate the job. One reason is that the controllers can use different radio frequencies to communicate with pilots flying planes and pilots flying helicopters. While the controller is communicating with pilots of the helicopter and the jet, the two sets of pilots may not be able to hear each other."

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/30/business/air-traffic-control-staffing-plane-crash.html

  • Miguel Afonso Caetano@tldr.nettime.orgOP
    1·
    7 days ago

    "Whitaker was only a year into the job when he announced his intention to step down. He had several years left in his term. His resignation clears the way for President Donald Trump to name his own replacement to run the agency. Later Thursday morning, Trump said he was tapping Chris Rocheleau, a top executive for an aviation business association, as acting FAA administrator, but provided no details about a permanent replacement.

    Musk, a major donor to Trump, is reportedly helping the administration vet candidates to certain positions and is directing an effort to purge thousands of federal workers from all levels of the government. And while its unclear whether Musk has been directly involved in picking a new FAA administrator, the billionaire mogul has reportedly been involved in overseeing Boeing’s development of the next Air Force One jets.

    But Musk’s efforts to get Whitaker were well known even before Trump’s victory in November. He has complained many times about the FAA, lashing out in September after the agency levied a $633,000 fine for launching missions with unapproved changes. (Musk is worth over $400 billion, making him the richest man in the world.)"

    https://www.theverge.com/news/603113/faa-chief-musk-dc-plane-crash-crisis