Emily Steel

Exactly. So as you can imagine, if you are assigned to do two jobs, your job becomes more complicated. There's more tasks to do. These controllers are monitoring the skies around the nation's capital. There's helicopters buzzing in and out. They're also managing the takeoffs and landings of these airplanes. This is an incredibly busy job. And

Exactly. So as you can imagine, if you are assigned to do two jobs, your job becomes more complicated. There's more tasks to do. These controllers are monitoring the skies around the nation's capital. There's helicopters buzzing in and out. They're also managing the takeoffs and landings of these airplanes. This is an incredibly busy job. And

On top of that, controllers often use different radio frequencies to communicate with the pilots on airplanes and the pilots who are flying helicopters.

On top of that, controllers often use different radio frequencies to communicate with the pilots on airplanes and the pilots who are flying helicopters.

And so if that controller is communicating with the pilots of the helicopter and the jet at the same time, those two sets of pilots might not be able to hear each other, which adds to another level of why they might not have been able to see or hear or not be aware of the other aircraft in the sky.

And so if that controller is communicating with the pilots of the helicopter and the jet at the same time, those two sets of pilots might not be able to hear each other, which adds to another level of why they might not have been able to see or hear or not be aware of the other aircraft in the sky.

Yes, that is a very serious problem. But what we've learned is that it should never come down to one mistake or one bad decision. What has happened on Wednesday is what pilots, air traffic controllers, and safety experts have been warning for years. They fear, and they've been very vocal, that there are growing holes in the aviation system that would inevitably lead to a deadly crash.

Yes, that is a very serious problem. But what we've learned is that it should never come down to one mistake or one bad decision. What has happened on Wednesday is what pilots, air traffic controllers, and safety experts have been warning for years. They fear, and they've been very vocal, that there are growing holes in the aviation system that would inevitably lead to a deadly crash.

Sydney and I spent a whole lot of time investigating airline safety and aviation safety in 2023. And we were able to get our hands on some internal data. And what we saw was an alarming pattern of safety lapses. There were near misses in the skies and on the runways of the United States.

Sydney and I spent a whole lot of time investigating airline safety and aviation safety in 2023. And we were able to get our hands on some internal data. And what we saw was an alarming pattern of safety lapses. There were near misses in the skies and on the runways of the United States.

And even though there hadn't been a major crash for more than a decade, potentially dangerous incidents were happening far more frequently than anybody realized.

And even though there hadn't been a major crash for more than a decade, potentially dangerous incidents were happening far more frequently than anybody realized.

The way that the safety net under U.S. aviation works is... is that there are multiple layers of protection. There are pilots, there's air traffic controllers, there's technology, there are flight paths and rules that the pilots are supposed to follow. And if one of those layers fails, has a problem, the next layer is supposed to catch it.

The way that the safety net under U.S. aviation works is... is that there are multiple layers of protection. There are pilots, there's air traffic controllers, there's technology, there are flight paths and rules that the pilots are supposed to follow. And if one of those layers fails, has a problem, the next layer is supposed to catch it.

So what this showed was that there was a safety system that was undermounting stress. We saw that there were mistakes by air traffic controllers that had been stretched thin by a long chronic nationwide staffing shortage. There are people who've been working overtime for years. There are people who work six days a week and 10-hour days. We saw that there were errors by pilots.

So what this showed was that there was a safety system that was undermounting stress. We saw that there were mistakes by air traffic controllers that had been stretched thin by a long chronic nationwide staffing shortage. There are people who've been working overtime for years. There are people who work six days a week and 10-hour days. We saw that there were errors by pilots.

We found that there were huge technology issues. We found controllers in some towers that were pulling up their laptops and using... website. It's called flightradar.com. And they were just using this website to kind of jerry-rig a system to do what they thought was more safe. What? Yeah. That's terrifying. It was terrifying.

We found that there were huge technology issues. We found controllers in some towers that were pulling up their laptops and using... website. It's called flightradar.com. And they were just using this website to kind of jerry-rig a system to do what they thought was more safe. What? Yeah. That's terrifying. It was terrifying.

And even just the facilities in these air traffic control centers were crumbling. So what our reporting really showed is that There are layers of safety and layers of protection in aviation, and they were all really starting to erode. And it was leading to this really stressful, very charged atmosphere where people inside the industry were saying, listen, pay attention to us.

And even just the facilities in these air traffic control centers were crumbling. So what our reporting really showed is that There are layers of safety and layers of protection in aviation, and they were all really starting to erode. And it was leading to this really stressful, very charged atmosphere where people inside the industry were saying, listen, pay attention to us.