The report, reviewed by The New York Times, said that one controller was communicating with both helicopters and planes. Those jobs are typically assigned to two people, not one.

A preliminary report suggests control tower staffing was inadequate when an American Airlines jet collided with a U.S. Army helicopter, plunging 67 people to their death in the icy Potomac River below.

A preliminary report from the Federal Aviation Administration noted that staffing at the air traffic control tower at Reagan Washington National Airport was "not normal" when an American Airlines commuter jet collided with a U.