Wednesday's tragic collision at Reagan National Airport has cast a dark shadow over American aviation. An American Airlines flight arriving from Kansas collided with a Black Hawk helicopter mid-flight, resulting in the deaths of all 67 individuals onboard both the plane and the helicopter.
As more details surface about this tragic accident, speculation runs rampant regarding the factors that contributed to this disaster. One glaring issue is the level of congestion in the airspace surrounding Reagan National. With its busy flight patterns, the airport has seen numerous close calls in recent years between airliners and helicopters, including one the day before the deadly crash.
In the three years before the deadly collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines flight near Reagan National Airport, at least two other pilots reported near-misses with helicopters while landing at the airport, a CNN review of federal incident reports found.
On two occasions, passenger planes had to take evasive action to avoid colliding with a helicopter when trying to land at the airport, according to reports filed by pilots. In a third incident, two military helicopters got too close together, an air traffic controller reported.
And just a day before the fatal collision, another flight approaching Reagan was forced to abort its first landing and go around after a helicopter flew near its flight path, according to air traffic control audio.
Those previous scares are sure to gain more attention after the disaster over the Potomac River on Wednesday night, which is presumed to have killed 64 people aboard the plane and three Army servicemembers on a helicopter training flight.
Other reports indicate that the Black Hawk involved in Wednesday’s deadly midair collision may have been operating on an unapproved flight path.
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“An Army helicopter may have deviated from its approved flight path before its deadly collision with an American Airlines jet over the Potomac River, the latest details to emerge as investigators combed the crash site for clues,” reports the New York Times.
Details about the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter’s final location indicated that it was not on its approved route and flying higher above the ground as it traversed the busy airspace just outside the nation’s capital, according to four people briefed on the matter but not authorized to speak publicly.
The internal F.A.A. report, which was reviewed by The New York Times, said the controller who was handling helicopters in the airport’s vicinity on Wednesday night was also instructing planes that were landing and departing from its runways — jobs typically assigned to two different controllers. A supervisor combined those duties sometime before 9:30 p.m. and allowed one controller to leave, according to a person briefed on the staffing, who was not authorized to speak publicly.
The aftermath of this disaster is likely to spark intense scrutiny of air traffic protocols and the operational standards in place at one of the nation’s busiest airports. With 67 lives lost, the need for stringent regulations and vigilant oversight has never been clearer.
On Thursday, Trump called for an immediate assessment of aviation safety.
“Consistent with the Presidential Memorandum of January 21, 2025 (Keeping Americans Safe in Aviation), I am further ordering the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) and the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (Administrator) to review all hiring decisions and changes to safety protocols made during the prior 4 years, and to take such corrective action as necessary to achieve uncompromised aviation safety, including the replacement of any individuals who do not meet qualification standards,” Trump wrote in a presidential memorandum. “This review shall include a systematic assessment of any deterioration in hiring standards and aviation safety standards and protocols during the Biden Administration.”
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