Chief Transportation Correspondent and Pilot MayCay Beeler explains what's called an "air traffic control washout" amid a current shortage

Air traffic control managers told the National Transportation Safety Board that F.A.A. leaders rebuffed efforts over the years to address hazardous conditions that played a role in the Jan. 29 crash.

The federal government runs air traffic control because that was the easiest way to do things in the early days of flying. Today, the entire system remains federally managed—even as commercial aviation has become far more complex.