Crash Warning as Report into DC Disaster at Reagan Airport Is Released

Federal private investigators have actually raised concerns of a potential for another lethal plane crash at Reagan National Airport, after a midair accident previously this year killed 67.

The National Transportation Safety Board gave an update on their examination into the reason for the catastrophe which occurred on January 29 in Washington.

An American Airlines jetliner and a Black Hawk military helicopter collided in midair over the Potomac River, eliminating everybody on board both aircrafts.

As part of a preliminary report released on Tuesday, investigators raised concerns of more crashes including helicopters at the airport.

NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy stated: ‘We stay concerned about the significant capacity for future mid-air accident at DCA.’

Her issues revolve around Transport Secretary Sean Duffy relocating to limit helicopter traffic around the area, however that is set to cease at the end of the month.

When police, medical or presidential transport helicopters should utilize the space civilian planes are stopped from being in the exact same location.

Homendy stated the NTSB is now suggesting that the FAA discover a ‘permanent service’ for alternate routes for helicopters when 2 of the airport’s runways are in usage.

Emergency units react after a passenger aircraft clashed with a helicopter in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington Airport on January 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia

Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Bureau (NTSB) Jennifer Homendy talks to press reporters about the 29 January mid-air accident

It was likewise exposed on Tuesday that there was warning indications in the lead up to the fatal catastrophe.

Those probing the crash went through 944,179 operations in between October 2021 and December 2024.

It was uncovered that 15,214 ‘near-miss events’ of aircrafts getting signals about helicopters being in close proximity in between October 2021 and December 2024.

The NTSB likewise said that there were 85 cases where two airplane where laterally split by less than 1,500 feet, and a vertical separation of less than 200 feet.

Homendy included: ‘That data from October 2021 through December 2024, (the FAA) might have used that details any time to identify that we have a trend here and a problem here, and looked at that route; that didn’t take place, which is why we’re doing something about it today. But sadly, people lost lives, and loved ones are grieving.’

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy knocked these findings at a later press conference on Tuesday.

Duffy said: ‘I believe the question is when this data comes in how did the FAA not know. How did they not study the information to say “hello, this is a hot spot, we are having near misses and if we don’t change our methods we are gon na lose lives”.’

He added: ‘That wasn’t done, perhaps there was a focus on something aside from security.’

Duffy would later included when questioned by a reporter about the near misses that the data had ‘p *** ed him off’.

Pictured: Parts of the wreckage seen being in the Potomac River after Flight 5342 collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday night, killing 67 people

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Investigators believe that the helicopter involved in the crash may have had inaccurate elevation readings in the minutes before the crash.

The crash likely took place at an elevation just under 300 feet, as the plane came down toward the chopper, which was above its 200-foot limitation for that location.

On Tuesday American Airlines invited the report by the NTSB, saying: ‘We’re grateful for the National Transportation Safety Board’s immediate safety recommendations to limit helicopter traffic near DCA and for its comprehensive investigation.

‘We will continue to collaborate closely with PSA Airlines as it cooperates as an investigative party member.’

The helicopter pilots might have likewise missed out on part of another communication, when the tower said the jet was turning toward a different runway, Homendy stated last month.

The helicopter was on a ‘check’ flight that night where the pilot was undergoing a yearly test and a test on utilizing night vision safety glasses, Homendy stated.

Investigators believe the crew was wearing night vision goggles throughout the flight.

The Army has said the Black Hawk team was highly experienced, and accustomed to the congested skies around the country ´ s capital.

At the time of the accident, a single air traffic controller was concurrently monitoring both the helicopter and aircraft traffic.

Those jobs are normally handled in between 2 people from 10am up until 9:30 pm, according to an early FAA report seen by The New York Times.

Those tasks are usually managed in between 2 individuals from 10am up until 9:30 pm, according to the report.

Surveillance video footage drawn from inside the airport caught the minute the 2 collided in midair

At the time of the collision, a single air traffic controller was concurrently keeping an eye on both the helicopter and airplane traffic. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is seen here

After 9:30 pm the tasks are normally combined and left to someone as the airport sees less traffic later in the night.

A manager reportedly chose to combine those tasks before the arranged cutoff time however, and allowed one air traffic controller to leave work early.

The FAA report said that staffing configuration ‘was not typical for the time of day and volume of traffic’.

Reagan National has actually been understaffed for several years, with simply 19 totally certified controllers since September 2023 – well listed below the target of 30 – according to the most recent Air Traffic Controller Workforce Plan sent to Congress.

The situation appeared to have enhanced considering that then, as a source told CNN the Reagan National control tower was 85 percent staffed with 24 of 28 positions filled.

Chronic understaffing at air traffic control service towers is nothing brand-new, with widely known causes including high turnover and budget cuts.

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In order to fill the gaps, controllers are often asked to work 10-hour days, six days a week.

After the of the report, previous Inspector General of the US Department of Transportation Mary Schiavo deemed the findings as ‘uncommon’.

She stated: ‘This NTSB action is extremely unusual. The release of an emergency situation recommendation requesting the FAA take immediate action, before the conclusion of the NTSB investigation is uncommon.’

The two aircraft had collided in a substantial fireball that was visible on dashcams of vehicles driving on highways that snake around the airport, before plunging into the river.

Less than a month later on, on February 17, a Delta traveler plane crashed-landed upside down in chaotic scenes at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Canada.

Miraculously, everyone on board endured after being suspended upside-down by their seat belts for several minutes until they tentatively started leaving.

The airplane had been heading to Toronto from Minneapolis – Saint Paul International Airport with 76 guests and 4 team members on board.

Some 21 individuals were taken to the healthcare facility for treatment to small injuries, and Delta has actually used each person a no-strings $30,000 payment in compensation.

And the airplane carnage is ongoing – on Sunday, yet another jet crash-landed, this time in a car park of a rural Pennsylvania retirement community.

Dramatic footage showed the Beechcraft A36TC appear in flames in the parking area of Brethren Village in Manheim Township. Five individuals were hurried to healthcare facility.

Medics, ambulances, and emergency situation cars rushed to the scene in Lancaster County as flames engulfed the plane and nearby lorries.

The airplane took off as set up on Sunday afternoon, but rapidly requested to land back on the tarmac because its door had actually opened.

American Airlines