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

Federal detectives have actually raised concerns of a potential for another fatal aircraft crash at Reagan National Airport, after a midair crash earlier this year eliminated 67.

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

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

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

NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy stated: 'We remain worried about the considerable potential for future mid-air accident at DCA.'

Her concerns revolve around Transport Secretary Sean Duffy moving to restrict helicopter traffic around the location, but that is set to cease at the end of the month.

When police, medical or governmental transportation helicopters need to use the space civilian planes are stopped from being in the same location.

Homendy stated the NTSB is now recommending that the FAA find a 'permanent solution' for alternate paths for helicopters when 2 of the airport's runways remain in usage.

Emergency systems react after a passenger 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 talks to reporters about the 29 January mid-air accident

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

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

It was discovered that 15,214 'near-miss occasions' of planes getting notifies about helicopters being in close proximity between October 2021 and December 2024.

The NTSB also 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 added: 'That data from October 2021 through December 2024, (the FAA) could have utilized that info any time to identify that we have a pattern here and an issue here, and looked at that path; that didn't occur, which is why we're taking action today. But unfortunately, individuals lost lives, and enjoyed ones are grieving.'

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

Duffy said: 'I think the concern is when this data can be found in how did the FAA not understand. How did they not study the data to say "hi, this is a hot area, we are having near misses out on and if we don't change our ways we are gon na lose lives".'

He added: 'That wasn't done, perhaps there was a concentrate on something besides safety.'

Duffy would later included when questioned by a press reporter about the near misses out on that the data had 'p *** ed him off'.

Pictured: Parts of the wreckage seen sitting 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 included in the crash might have had inaccurate altitude readings in the minutes before the crash.

The collision most likely happened at an elevation just under 300 feet, as the airplane descended towards the chopper, which was above its 200-foot limit 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 security recommendations to limit helicopter traffic near DCA and for its extensive investigation.

'We will continue to coordinate closely with PSA Airlines as it complies as an investigative party member.'

The helicopter pilots may have also missed part of another interaction, when the tower stated the jet was turning towards a various 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 using night vision safety glasses, Homendy stated.

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

The Army has stated the Black Hawk crew was extremely experienced, and accustomed to the congested skies around the country ´ s capital.

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

Those tasks are generally managed between 2 individuals from 10am up until 9:30 pm, according to an early FAA report seen by The New york city Times.

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

Surveillance footage taken from inside the airport captured the minute the two clashed in midair

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

After 9:30 pm the tasks are usually integrated and delegated a single person as the airport sees less traffic later on in the night.

A supervisor apparently decided to combine those tasks before the arranged cutoff time nevertheless, and enabled one air traffic controller to leave work early.

The FAA report said that staffing setup '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 licensed controllers since September 2023 - well below the target of 30 - according to the most current Air Traffic Controller Workforce Plan submitted to Congress.

The situation appeared to have actually improved because then, as a source informed 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 brand-new, with widely known causes including high turnover and budget cuts.

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In order to fill the spaces, controllers are frequently 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 stated: 'This NTSB action is highly uncommon. The release of an emergency suggestion asking for the FAA take instant action, before the conclusion of the NTSB investigation is uncommon.'

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

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

Miraculously, everybody on board endured after being suspended upside-down by their seat belts for a number of minutes till they tentatively began evacuating.

The plane had been heading to Toronto from Minneapolis - Saint Paul International Airport with 76 passengers and four crew members on board.

Some 21 individuals were taken to the medical facility for treatment to minor injuries, and Delta has actually provided everyone a no-strings $30,000 payment in payment.

And the plane carnage is ongoing - on Sunday, yet another jet crash-landed, this time in a parking lot of a rural Pennsylvania retirement home.

Dramatic video showed the Beechcraft A36TC erupt in flames in the car park of Brethren Village in Manheim Township. Five people were hurried to medical facility.

Medics, ambulances, and emergency automobiles hurried to the scene in Lancaster County as flames engulfed the aircraft and nearby vehicles.