US EditionInvestigators say deadly midair collision near DC followed years of ignored warnings about traffic
The NTSB identified ignored warnings, poor air traffic control, and disabled location systems as causes in the 67-fatality crash, urging swift safety reforms.
- On Jan. 29, 2025, an American Airlines jet from Wichita, Kansas, and an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided, killing 67 people as both plunged into the Potomac River.
- Investigators say years of ignored FAA warnings and a poorly designed helicopter route past Reagan Airport contributed, while the Black Hawk flew 78 feet too high and the Army turned off a key location system.
- Many victims were participants in a national skating competition in Wichita, including 28 members of the figure skating community such as Alydia and Everly Livingston.
- The FAA last week formalized airspace changes first adopted shortly after the collision, and the NTSB will recommend further action while victims' families vow to maintain pressure on officials.
- The collision was the deadliest U.S. plane crash since 2001, sparking concern amid other high-profile incidents last year despite NTSB statistics showing 1,405 crashes nationwide.
26 Articles
26 Articles
US safety board: Fatal Washington crash due to FAA failures, including letting helicopters fly too close to planes
WASHINGTON, Jan 28 — The US National Transportation Safety Board found today that a series of systemic failures by the Federal Aviation Administration led to a devastating mid-air collision that killed 67 people last year. The January 2025 collision between an American Airlines regional jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) was the deadliest US aviation disaster in more than two decades. The N…
Deadly midair collision near D.C. followed years of ignored warnings about traffic, investigators say
National Transportation Safety Board members were deeply troubled Tuesday over years of ignored warnings about helicopter traffic dangers and other problems, long before an American Airlines jet and an Army Black Hawk collided a year ago, killing 67 people near Washington, D.C.
Intense air traffic at time of deadly midair plane, helicopter collision near DC: investigator
The air traffic controller who was managing numerous aircraft around Reagan National Airport felt a "little overwhelmed" just a few minutes before an American Airlines jet collided midair with an Army helicopter near Washington D.C., an investigator said.
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