On January 29, an American Airlines airliner collided with an Army helicopter when an airplane was ready to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC. Both jumped into the Potomac River, with all 67 people on board.
Since then, much of the attention has focused on the altitude of helicopters. The National Transportation Safety Board, which handles the investigation, plans to briefly explain the reporter's investigation on Friday.
The crash was the most fatal plane crash in the United States since 2001. The jet crashed into a New York City neighbourhood shortly after takeoff, killing all 260 people and five more on the ground.
Air travel is overwhelmingly safe in the US, but in recent weeks there have been a series of incidents, including a fierce explosion on January 31, when seven people were killed, crashing in a Philadelphia neighborhood on January 31. . Last week, a small commuter aircraft crashed from western Alaska, killing 10 people.
American Airlines Flight 5342 came from Wichita, Kansas, and carried 60 passengers and four crew members. Nearby, a US Army Black Hawk with three soldiers is undergoing training exercises and implements emergency evacuation routes used to drain key government officials on the ferry in the event of an attack or catastrophe. I was doing it.
A few minutes before the twin-engine jet landed, the air traffic controller asked if a shorter runway could be used. The pilot agreed, and the flight tracking site indicates that the plane has adjusted its approach.
Shortly before the collision, the controller warned that the plane and the Black Hawk were converging and asked if the helicopter could see the plane. The military pilot said yes and called for “visual separation” from the jet. If the pilot doesn't see the plane, it may be closer than otherwise allowed. The controller has approved the request.
About 20 seconds later, the aircraft collided.
Since the crash, the National Transportation Safety Board has retrieved all flight data recorders and pulled the remains of both aircraft from Potomac.
It will take more than a year to get the final NTSB report on crashes, but staff will be offering regular updates as investigators learn more and will publish preliminary reports in the coming weeks .
Almost immediately after the crash, President Donald Trump publicly cut off a helicopter with a 200-foot (61 meters) flight ceiling, causing the flight to be too high. He also condemned federal diversity and inclusion efforts, particularly with regard to air traffic controllers. When pressed by reporters, the president was unable to support those claims. A few days later, Trump took responsibility for what he called an “outdated” air traffic control system.
Army officials say the Black Hawk crew is well versed in the busy skies around Washington.
The altitude data was not entirely clear in the early days of the investigation, and there was a contradictory number from the plane's flight data recorder and the control tower.
But at the time, investigators were still working to recover information from the helicopter black box that had been flooded after plunging into the river and improve other data.
Investigators also said that the jet's flight recorder showed a change in angle about a second before impact, but that the pilot showed that he was trying to implement a workaround to avoid crashes. He said that.
The Army has identified the Black Hawk crew as Colonel Rebecca M. Robach of Durham, North Carolina. Staff Sergeant Ryan Austin O'Hara, 28, of Lilburn, Georgia. Chief warrant officer for Andrew Lloyd Eves, 39, of Great Mills, Maryland. O'Hara was the chief of the crew, and Eke and Robach were pilots.
Among the jet's passengers were several members of the Boston skate club who returned from development camp for elite junior skaters following the 2025 US Figure Skating Championships in Wichita.
Victims include a group of hunters returning from a guided trip in Kansas, four members of the local Steam Fitters union outside Maryland, and nine students and parents from Fairfax County, Virginia. It was there.
