Federal detectives have raised issues of a capacity for another fatal plane crash at Reagan National Airport, after a midair accident previously this year killed 67.
The National Transportation Safety Board provided an update on their investigation into the reason for the catastrophe which took place on January 29 in Washington.
An American Airlines jetliner and a Black Hawk military helicopter collided in midair over the Potomac River, killing everyone on board both aircrafts.
As part of an initial report launched on Tuesday, detectives raised issues of more crashes involving helicopters at the airport.
NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said: 'We stay concerned about the significant potential for future mid-air collision at DCA.'
Her concerns revolve around Transport Secretary Sean Duffy transferring to restrict helicopter traffic around the area, however that is set to cease at the end of the month.
When police, medical or governmental transportation helicopters should utilize the space civilian airplanes are stopped from being in the same location.
Homendy said the NTSB is now advising that the FAA discover a 'long-term service' for alternate paths for helicopters when two of the airport's runways are in usage.
Emergency units react after a traveler airplane 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 crash
It was likewise revealed on Tuesday that there was cautioning indications in the lead up to the fatal disaster.
Those penetrating the crash went through 944,179 operations in between October 2021 and December 2024.
It was uncovered that 15,214 'near-miss events' of planes getting informs about helicopters being in between October 2021 and December 2024.
The NTSB also said that there were 85 cases where 2 aircraft where laterally divided by less than 1,500 feet, and a vertical separation of less than 200 feet.
Homendy added: 'That information from October 2021 through December 2024, (the FAA) could have utilized that details at any time to figure out that we have a pattern here and a problem here, and looked at that route; that didn't happen, which is why we're doing something about it today. But sadly, individuals lost lives, and enjoyed ones are grieving.'
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy slammed these findings at a later interview on Tuesday.
Duffy said: 'I believe the question is when this data comes in how did the FAA not understand. How did they not study the data to state "hi, this is a hot spot, we are having near misses out on and if we do not change our ways we are gon na lose lives".'
He included: 'That wasn't done, maybe there was a concentrate on something other than security.'
Duffy would later included when questioned by a reporter about the near misses that the data 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 individuals
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Investigators think that the helicopter involved in the crash may have had incorrect elevation readings in the minutes before the crash.
The accident most likely occurred at an elevation simply under 300 feet, as the airplane came down towards the chopper, which was above its 200-foot limit for that place.
On Tuesday American Airlines welcomed the report by the NTSB, stating: 'We're grateful for the National Transportation Safety Board's immediate safety recommendations to limit helicopter traffic near DCA and for its comprehensive examination.
'We will continue to coordinate carefully with PSA Airlines as it complies as an investigative party member.'
The helicopter pilots might have also missed out on part of another communication, when the tower said the jet was turning toward a different runway, Homendy said last month.
The helicopter was on a 'check' flight that night where the pilot was undergoing an annual test and a test on utilizing night vision safety glasses, Homendy stated.
Investigators believe the crew was wearing night vision safety glasses throughout the flight.
The Army has stated the Black Hawk team was highly experienced, and accustomed to the congested skies around the country ยด s capital.
At the time of the accident, a single air traffic controller was all at once monitoring both the helicopter and airplane traffic.
Those jobs are typically handled in between 2 individuals from 10am until 9:30 pm, according to an early FAA report seen by The New York Times.
Those jobs are typically handled in between two individuals from 10am till 9:30 pm, according to the report.
Surveillance video drawn from inside the airport caught the minute the 2 clashed in midair
At the time of the collision, a single air traffic controller was all at once keeping track of both the helicopter and airplane traffic. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is seen here
After 9:30 pm the duties are generally combined and left to someone as the airport sees less traffic later on in the night.
A supervisor supposedly decided to integrate those tasks before the scheduled cutoff time however, and permitted one air traffic controller to leave work early.
The FAA report stated that staffing setup 'was not typical for the time of day and volume of traffic'.
Reagan National has actually been understaffed for many years, with just 19 fully certified controllers as of September 2023 - well below the target of 30 - according to the most current Air Traffic Controller Workforce Plan sent to Congress.
The scenario appeared to have actually enhanced ever since, 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 service towers is absolutely nothing new, with popular causes including high turnover and spending plan cuts.
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In order to fill the gaps, controllers are frequently asked to work 10-hour days, 6 days a week.
After the release of the report, previous Inspector General of the US Department of Transportation Mary Schiavo considered the findings as 'uncommon'.
She stated: 'This NTSB action is extremely unusual. The release of an emergency situation suggestion requesting the FAA take immediate action, before the completion of the NTSB examination is uncommon.'
The 2 airplane had actually clashed in a huge fireball that showed up on dashcams of automobiles driving on highways that snake around the airport, before plunging into the river.
Less than a month later, on February 17, a Delta traveler plane crashed-landed upside down in disorderly scenes at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Canada.
Miraculously, everyone on board endured after being suspended upside-down by their seatbelts for a number of minutes till they tentatively began evacuating.
The airplane had actually been heading to Toronto from Minneapolis - Saint Paul International Airport with 76 guests and four crew members on board.
Some 21 people were taken to the medical facility for treatment to minor injuries, and Delta has actually used each person a no-strings $30,000 payout in settlement.
And the airplane carnage is ongoing - on Sunday, yet another jet crash-landed, this time in a car park of a suburban Pennsylvania retirement community.
Dramatic footage showed the Beechcraft A36TC erupt in flames in the parking area of Brethren Village in Manheim Township. Five individuals were rushed to healthcare facility.
Medics, ambulances, and emergency situation automobiles hurried to the scene in Lancaster County as flames swallowed up the plane and nearby lorries.
The airplane took off as arranged on Sunday afternoon, but quickly requested to land back on the tarmac because its door had actually opened.
American Airlines
