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

Federal detectives have raised issues of a potential for another deadly aircraft crash at Reagan National Airport, after a midair collision previously this year killed 67.

The National Transportation Safety Board provided an update on their examination into the cause of 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 everyone on board both airplanes.

As part of a preliminary report released on Tuesday, private investigators raised issues of more crashes involving helicopters at the airport.

NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said: 'We remain worried about the substantial potential for future mid-air collision at DCA.'

Her issues focus on Transport Secretary Sean Duffy relocating to restrict helicopter traffic around the area, but that is set to cease at the end of the month.

When authorities, medical or presidential transportation helicopters should utilize the space civilian planes are stopped from remaining in the exact same location.

Homendy stated the NTSB is now recommending that the FAA discover a 'permanent service' for alternate routes for helicopters when two of the airport's runways are in usage.

Emergency units respond after a passenger aircraft hit 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 collision

It was also exposed on Tuesday that there was alerting indications in the lead up to the lethal disaster.

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

It was discovered that 15,214 'near-miss events' of planes 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 added: 'That data from October 2021 through December 2024, (the FAA) might have utilized that info whenever to identify that we have a trend here and a problem here, and looked at that route; that didn't occur, which is why we're taking action today. But sadly, individuals lost lives, and liked ones are grieving.'

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

Duffy said: 'I think the question is when this data is available in how did the FAA not understand. How did they not study the information to state "hello, this is a hot area, we are having near misses and if we don't change our ways we are gon na lose lives".'

He added: 'That wasn't done, maybe there was a concentrate on something other than safety.'

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

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

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

The accident likely happened at an altitude just under 300 feet, as the aircraft descended towards the chopper, which was above its 200-foot limit for that place.

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 comprehensive investigation.

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

The helicopter pilots may have also missed out on part of another communication, when the tower said the jet was turning toward a various 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 utilizing night vision goggles, Homendy stated.

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

The Army has stated the Black Hawk crew 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 at the same time keeping an eye on both the helicopter and aircraft traffic.

Those jobs are normally dealt with between two people from 10am till 9:30 pm, according to an early FAA report seen by The New York Times.

Those jobs are generally dealt with in between 2 people from 10am up until 9:30 pm, according to the report.

Surveillance video footage drawn from inside the airport recorded the moment the two collided in midair

At the time of the accident, a single air traffic controller was at the same time keeping an eye on both the helicopter and plane traffic. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is seen here

After 9:30 pm the duties are generally combined and left to a single person as the airport sees less traffic later on in the night.

A manager reportedly decided to combine those duties before the arranged cutoff time however, and enabled one air traffic controller to leave work early.

The FAA report stated that staffing setup 'was not regular for the time of day and volume of traffic'.

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

The situation appeared to have enhanced given 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 towers is nothing new, with popular causes consisting of high turnover and budget plan cuts.

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

After the release of the report, former Inspector General of the US Department of Transportation Mary Schiavo considered the findings as 'uncommon'.

She said: 'This NTSB action is highly unusual. The release of an emergency situation recommendation requesting the FAA take instant action, before the completion of the NTSB investigation is uncommon.'

The two airplane had clashed in a big fireball that was noticeable 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 guest 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 up until they tentatively started evacuating.

The aircraft had been heading to Toronto from Minneapolis - Saint Paul International Airport with 76 passengers and 4 crew members on board.

Some 21 people were required to the medical facility for treatment to small injuries, and Delta has used each person a no-strings $30,000 payment in payment.

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

Dramatic footage revealed the Beechcraft A36TC emerge in flames in the parking area of Brethren Village in Manheim Township. Five individuals were rushed to healthcare facility.

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