Former air traffic controller at MKE shares insight into D.C. crash, questions key tower decision

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A former air traffic controller believes decisions made inside the tower last week at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport contributed to a mid-air collision that killed 67 people.

Jordan Morales worked as an air traffic controller for 12 years, guiding aircraft at both military bases and airports. Most recently, he worked in the control tower at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport from 2018 until 2022. Morales said that work frequently included diverting airplanes and helicopters that were on converging paths.

"I wouldn't call them close calls," Morales said. "But I had several conflicts that were similar to what we saw in Washington."

He recalled one instance in 2017 when he was working at Columbia Metropolitan Airport in Columbia, South Carolina. An American Airlines regional jet was set to make its final approach, but Morales cancelled the landing because another aircraft was too close for his liking.

He's kept a recording of the transmission, which ends with the regional jet pilot thanking him for keeping the crew safe.

"That aircraft that I was talking to in the recording was literally the same type of aircraft that crashed in D.C.," Morales said. "Same company and everything."

Last Wednesday, an American Airlines regional jet collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter as it approached Reagan airport.

Morales said he questioned why the controller at Reagan granted the helicopter pilot's request for visual separation, which gives the pilot the responsibility of safely navigating around the aircraft in conflict.

"The regional jet was in the middle of a turn to join final [approach] and was also on a converging course with the Black Hawk," he said. "To me, that's not a good setup for visual separation."

While the early stages of the investigation determined the helicopter was flying at a higher altitude than authorized in that location, Morales said it might've made sense for the pilot to fly higher if they were changing their route to avoid a plane. He said the problem is it's very possible the helicopter pilot was flying in a pattern that was avoiding another plane, and the pilot requested visual separation from that other jet and never even saw the American Airlines jet from Wichita prior to the crash.

"Especially at night, the only thing you see is, you know, a green wing tip and a red wing tip light," Morales said. "And possibly, a landing light."

One day after the crash, President Donald Trump suggested efforts related to diversity, equity and inclusion, commonly referred to as 'DEI,' could have factored into the crash.

Morales dismissed the idea. He said while it's possible DEI efforts got somebody into the Federal Aviation Administration's training academy, nobody gets certified to control airspace without first demonstrating they can handle the task. 

"Controller trainees are trained by controllers, and they're certified by frontline supervisors," he said. "I can just tell you, as a controller, I would've never taken anything like that into account, you know, like diversity or anything like that. You just really certify them based on the merits."

At Mitchell airport alone, monthly air traffic data from last November and December show nearly 8,000 flights taking off and landing at the airport each month. 

While initial reports have found the controller at Reagan was doing two people's jobs at the time of the crash, Morales said that wasn't uncommon in his experience. He said, technically, he often worked in an "understaffed" tower around times of shift changes or while others were on mandated breaks, but it never felt unsafe managing air traffic in those settings.

"It's not the ideal situation," Morales said. "Obviously, you'd want 50 controllers in the tower, right? But it's also not terrible."

Ultimately, Morales said he believed the crash investigation would come down to understanding why the helicopter pilot sought visual separation, why the controller granted it and whether military aviation culture needs to change.

"I think military aviation has a safety issue," he said. "Not anything to do with DEI, but they do have a safety culture issue."

As National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators tackle some of those questions, Morales said he felt for the victims' families and for the controller.

"I know that controller's gotta be feeling terrible about it," he said. "That's your worst day ever."