The National Transportation Safety Board said there were five people in the air traffic control tower at Reagan Washington National Airport during the Jan. 29 collision of a passenger jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter that left 67 people dead.
The agency also gave other updates on its investigation, including plans to have a complete transcription of the communications among the aircraft and traffic controllers available Sunday, NTSB member Todd Inman said Saturday during a press briefing.
Breaking down the audio communications currently available, lead investigator Brice Banning said that after after the air traffic control tower directed the Black Hawk helicopter to pass behind the plane at about 8:47 p.m. ET, seconds later there was a “verbal reaction” from the plane crew and flight data showed the plane begin to increase in pitch just before sounds of impact.
The five personnel in the air traffic control tower included an operations supervisor with oversight of the tower and an operations supervisor in training, Inman said.
When asked about the staffing in the control in the tower at the time of the accident and whether it was adequate or typical, Inman said, “Typical over time can change based on the day of the week, the time, the weather. So we will not categorize anything as typical right now until we can present it in a better fashion.”
The Washington Post had reported on Friday that according to a government report, tower staffing levels at the time was “not normal.”
DC plane crash:Mapping the flight paths that put jet and helicopter on collision course
US Army identifies pilot in DC crash
Also on Saturday, the U.S. Army identified the third pilot of the Army helicopter involved in the crash as Capt. Rebecca Lobach, 28, of Durham, North Carolina. She was one of three soldiers aboard the helicopter, the Army announced alongside a statement from Lobach’s family on Saturday evening. The Army had already identified the other two soldiers.
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