A congressional hearing held recently has highlighted the tragic midair collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter in January, which resulted in the loss of all 67 people aboard the two aircrafts. The hearing reinforced the notion that this incident could have been avoided. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had already gathered data indicating a significant number of dangerous near-misses around Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., but the trend went unnoticed. In response to this oversight, the FAA’s acting administrator has committed to improving the situation, pledging to review data from other airports known for heavy helicopter traffic in the coming weeks.
The investigation into the collision is still ongoing, with the final report not expected until next year. The collision, which occurred on January 29, involved American Airlines Flight 5342 traveling from Wichita, Kansas, with 60 passengers and four crew members on board. The Army Black Hawk helicopter was conducting practice drills for emergency evacuations, carrying three soldiers equipped with night-vision goggles that limited their peripheral vision.
Shortly before the collision, air traffic controllers requested the plane to switch to a shorter runway, a request the pilots agreed to. Flight-tracking sites showed the plane adjusted its approach accordingly. Following the crash, the FAA permanently banned the helicopter route that planes were using at the time. Controllers received an alert indicating the convergence of the plane and helicopter but still approved the helicopter pilot’s request for “visual separation,” allowing it to fly closer than usual if the pilots had a visual on the plane. The request was approved about 20 seconds before the collision.
Reports from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) revealed there had been 85 perilous close encounters between planes and helicopters around Reagan National Airport in the three years prior to the crash, with collision alarms activated at least monthly since 2011. According to NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy, the Black Hawk cockpit recorder indicated a possible incomplete radio transmission left the crew unable to hear instructions to move behind the jet moments before the collision. The crew missed the phrase “pass behind the” due to their microphone key being pressed.
At the time of the crash, the helicopter was flying at an altitude above the 200-foot limit designated for that location. Disparities in altitude readings between the crew also emerged, creating further confusion. Older models of Black Hawks typically rely on both barometric and radio altimeters; however, the helicopter’s black box prioritized radio altitude data.
In the aftermath, President Donald Trump attributed the incident to the helicopter’s height and criticized federal diversity efforts in managing air traffic control, although he could not provide concrete evidence for these assertions. He later cited outdated air traffic control systems as a contributing factor.
The Army identified the Black Hawk crew members as Capt. Rebecca M. Lobach, Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves. Among the passengers on the American Airlines flight were members of the Skating Club of Boston, hunters returning from Kansas, steamfitters from Maryland, Fairfax County students and parents, as well as two Chinese nationals. A tribute event in Washington raised $1.2 million for the crash victims’ families.
This incident is part of a series of recent aviation mishaps. Other incidents occurred in January and February, involving aircraft crashes and close calls, such as a Delta plane accident and a near miss involving a Southwest Airlines aircraft in Chicago. Despite these occurrences, air travel remains statistically safe. However, the Washington collision was the deadliest U.S. plane crash since 2001, marking a tragic moment in aviation history.