One controller reportedly handled arrivals and departures, and also helicopter traffic – a job usually done by two people

• Washington DC plane crash – latest updates
• First confirmed victims include figure-skating champions

A collision on Wednesday between an American Airlines jet and a US military helicopter near Washington DC killed all 67 people onboard both aircraft and sparked questions over whether understaffing in an air traffic control tower played a role in the United States’ worst aviation disaster in years.

As it approached Reagan National airport around 9pm, American Eagle flight 5342 collided with a US army Black Hawk helicopter, plunging wreckage of the two aircraft into the icy Potomac River and killing all 64 passengers and crew on the plane, along with three soldiers on the helicopter.