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

Federal investigators have raised concerns of a capacity for another fatal plane crash at Reagan National Airport, after a midair collision earlier this year eliminated 67.

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

An American Airlines jetliner and a Black Hawk military helicopter clashed in midair over the Potomac River, eliminating everyone on board both airplanes.

As part of an initial report launched on Tuesday, investigators raised concerns of more collisions including helicopters at the airport.

NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy stated: ‘We stay worried about the significant potential for future mid-air crash at DCA.’

Her concerns revolve around Transport Secretary Sean Duffy transferring to limit helicopter traffic around the area, however that is set to stop at the end of the month.

When police, medical or presidential transport helicopters must use the space civilian aircrafts are stopped from being in the very same area.

Homendy stated the NTSB is now advising that the FAA find a ‘permanent option’ for detours for helicopters when two of the airport’s runways remain in use.

Emergency units respond after a guest airplane collided 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 speaks with reporters about the 29 January mid-air accident

It was likewise revealed on Tuesday that there was warning indications in the lead up to the lethal disaster.

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

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

The NTSB also stated 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 added: ‘That information from October 2021 through December 2024, (the FAA) could have used that details at any time to figure out that we have a trend here and a problem here, and looked at that path; that didn’t take place, which is why we’re taking action today. But sadly, people lost lives, and loved ones are grieving.’

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy slammed these findings at a later interview on Tuesday.

Duffy said: ‘I believe the concern is when this data is available in how did the FAA not understand. How did they not study the information to say “hi, this is a hot area, we are having near misses and if we do not change our ways we are gon na lose lives”.’

He included: ‘That wasn’t done, perhaps there was a focus on something besides security.’

Duffy would later included when questioned by a press reporter about the near misses that the information 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, eliminating 67 individuals

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Investigators think that the helicopter associated with the crash might have had unreliable elevation readings in the minutes before the crash.

The collision likely happened at an altitude simply under 300 feet, as the aircraft came down towards the chopper, which was above its 200-foot limitation for that area.

On Tuesday American Airlines welcomed the report by the NTSB, stating: ‘We’re grateful for the National Transportation Safety security suggestions to restrict helicopter traffic near DCA and for its comprehensive examination.

‘We will continue to coordinate closely with PSA Airlines as it works together as an investigative celebration member.’

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

The helicopter was on a ‘check’ flight that night where the pilot was going through an annual test and a test on using night vision safety glasses, Homendy stated.

Investigators believe the crew was using night vision safety glasses 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 keeping track of both the helicopter and plane traffic.

Those jobs are generally handled between 2 people from 10am till 9:30 pm, according to an early FAA report seen by The New york city Times.

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

Surveillance video footage taken from inside the airport caught the moment the 2 clashed in midair

At the time of the crash, a single air traffic controller was all at once monitoring both the helicopter and airplane traffic. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is seen here

After 9:30 pm the tasks are generally combined and left to one individual as the airport sees less traffic later on in the night.

A manager reportedly chose to integrate those responsibilities before the set up cutoff time nevertheless, and enabled one air traffic controller to leave work early.

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

Reagan National has been understaffed for lots of years, with simply 19 completely accredited controllers since September 2023 – well below the target of 30 – according to the most recent Air Traffic Controller Workforce Plan submitted to Congress.

The scenario appeared to have actually enhanced ever since, 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 towers is nothing new, with popular causes consisting of high turnover and spending plan cuts.

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In order to fill the gaps, controllers are often asked to work 10-hour days, 6 days a week.

After the release of the report, former Inspector General of the US Department of Transportation Mary Schiavo deemed the findings as ‘unusual’.

She said: ‘This NTSB action is highly unusual. The release of an emergency situation recommendation asking for the FAA take instant action, before the completion of the NTSB examination is unusual.’

The 2 airplane had clashed in a big fireball that showed up on dashcams of cars driving on highways that snake around the airport, before plunging into the river.

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

Miraculously, everyone on board made it through after being suspended upside-down by their seat belts for several minutes up until they tentatively began leaving.

The aircraft had actually been heading to Toronto from Minneapolis – Saint Paul International Airport with 76 travelers and four team members on board.

Some 21 people were required to the healthcare facility for treatment to minor injuries, and Delta has actually offered each person a no-strings $30,000 payout in settlement.

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

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

Medics, ambulances, and emergency automobiles hurried to the scene in Lancaster County as flames swallowed up the aircraft and nearby lorries.

The aircraft took off as set up on Sunday afternoon, but quickly asked for to land back on the tarmac due to the fact that its door had actually opened.

American Airlines