Air traffic control staffing 'not normal' during DC crash - officials

Air traffic control staffing was "not normal" at the time of a mid-air collision between a military helicopter and passenger plane in Washington, DC that killed 67 people, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has acknowledged.

US media reported that Reagan National Airport tower was understaffed during Wednesday's crash, according to a government report.

"I'll take the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) at their word that it wasn't normal," Duffy said when asked about reports during the FOX News Sunday programme.

So far, 55 victims have been recovered from the Potomac River, with divers continuing to search for 12 more.

There were 64 passengers aboard the American Airlines flight when it collided mid-air with an army Black Hawk helicopter carrying three soldiers as crew. There were no survivors.

At the time of the crash, one air traffic control worker was managing helicopters and some planes from the airport, a job normally done by two people, two sources told CBS News, the BBC's US news partner.

Duffy said "that was part of the review process that we have to do".

He explained there was a "consolidation of air traffic controllers an hour before it was supposed to happen during the time of this crash. And so was, what was the appropriateness of that?"

Duffy raised questions about whether controllers did "appropriately direct traffic, consistent with procedures at the FAA", as well as the elevation of the helicopter.

National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Board Member Todd Inman said preliminary data revealed the helicopter was flying at about 200ft (60m), CBS reported. The flight ceiling for helicopters in the area near Reagan National Airport is 200ft.

Duffy also questioned the timing of its flight.

"Why would they fly a mission at nine o'clock at night through really busy air space... as opposed to flying that mission at one o'clock in the morning, when there's very little traffic"? he asked.

"I want our military to be trained up and ready to go, but I also want air travellers to be safe as well, and there's a time and a place to do it, not at nine o'clock at night when there's heavy traffic."

Investigators are considering a number of factors, including height, in determining the cause of the crash, but have not yet made any public conclusions, NTSB officials said on Thursday.

Military officials told a news conference on Sunday said the helicopter crew was based in DC, where they flew daily missions to support senior army leadership and other government leaders.

Wednesday's flight was a training mission required annually for recertification, led by two experienced pilots who had flown in the local area many times before, officials said.

Duffy said the US has a chronic understaffing problem in air traffic control.

US media has reported that more than 90% of air traffic control facilities in the country are operating below FAA recommended staffing levels.

"We haven't had enough air traffic controllers in America for a very long time," Duffy said, adding "they are stressed out. They're tapped out. They're overworked. That's no excuse. It's just a reality of what we have in the system."

The new transportation secretary said he was working with the FAA to train new air traffic controllers and "has a plan that's going to come out to fix the problem, but the issue is you can't flip a switch and get air traffic controllers here tomorrow."

As officials investigate the cause of the crash, recovery operations continue.

"We believe we're going to be able to recover all of the victims, but we don't know where they are at this point," DC fire chief John Donnelly said.

At first light on Monday morning, the Army will begin to lift the wreckage, pausing if they recover any remains, Col Francis Pera said.

"Uniting those lost in this tragic incident is really what keeps us going," he added.

During the operation on Sunday, a DC police diver was taken to hospital with hypothermia, but recovered.

On Sunday morning, dozens of family members of the victims gathered at the scene of the crash.

They arrived in chartered buses with a police escort, first travelling to the crash scene and then on to a runway where the flight was supposed to land.

The fire chief said he was not at the event, but had met with families, who he said are "grieving" with a "whole range of emotions".

"They are a strong group of families that are focused on getting their loved ones back," he said.