Crash Warning as Report into DC Disaster at Reagan Airport Is Released
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Federal investigators have actually raised concerns of a capacity for another fatal plane crash at Reagan National Airport, after a midair collision previously this year eliminated 67.
The National Transportation Safety Board offered an upgrade on their investigation into the cause of the catastrophe which happened on January 29 in Washington.
An American Airlines jetliner and a Black Hawk military helicopter clashed in midair over the Potomac River, killing everybody on board both aircrafts.
As part of an initial report launched on Tuesday, private investigators raised concerns of more crashes including helicopters at the airport.
NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said: 'We remain worried about the significant capacity for future mid-air crash at DCA.'
Her issues revolve around Transport Secretary Sean Duffy relocating to limit helicopter traffic around the location, however that is set to cease at the end of the month.
When police, medical or presidential transportation helicopters should utilize the space civilian aircrafts are stopped from being in the very same location.
Homendy said the NTSB is now advising that the FAA find a 'long-term solution' for detours for helicopters when two of the airport's runways remain in use.
Emergency units react after a guest 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 speaks to reporters about the 29 January mid-air collision
It was also revealed on Tuesday that there was alerting check in the lead up to the lethal catastrophe.
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 airplanes getting alerts about helicopters being in close distance between October 2021 and December 2024.
The NTSB also said that there were 85 cases where two airplane where laterally split by less than 1,500 feet, and a vertical separation of less than 200 feet.
Homendy included: 'That data from October 2021 through December 2024, (the FAA) might have utilized that info any time to determine that we have a pattern here and an issue here, and looked at that route; that didn't take place, which is why we're doing something about it today. But sadly, individuals lost lives, and liked ones are grieving.'
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy knocked these findings at a later press conference on Tuesday.
Duffy stated: 'I believe the question is when this data is available in how did the FAA not understand. How did they not study the data to state "hi, this is a location, we are having near misses out on and if we don't alter our methods we are gon na lose lives".'
He included: 'That wasn't done, possibly there was a concentrate on something aside from safety.'
Duffy would later added when questioned by a reporter about the near misses out on 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 believe that the helicopter involved in the crash may have had incorrect elevation readings in the minutes before the crash.
The collision likely occurred at an altitude simply under 300 feet, as the aircraft descended toward the chopper, which was above its 200-foot limit for that area.
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 extensive examination.
'We will continue to coordinate closely with PSA Airlines as it works together as an investigative celebration member.'
The helicopter pilots might have likewise missed part of another communication, when the tower stated the jet was turning towards a various 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 using night vision safety glasses, Homendy stated.
Investigators believe the crew was using night vision safety glasses throughout the flight.
The Army has stated the Black Hawk crew was extremely experienced, and accustomed to the congested skies around the country ´ s capital.
At the time of the crash, a single air traffic controller was all at once keeping track of both the helicopter and aircraft traffic.
Those jobs are generally handled in between 2 individuals from 10am till 9:30 pm, according to an early FAA report seen by The New york city Times.
Those tasks are usually handled in between two individuals from 10am until 9:30 pm, according to the report.
Surveillance video drawn from inside the airport recorded the minute the two clashed in midair
At the time of the accident, a single air traffic controller was simultaneously keeping an eye on both the helicopter and airplane traffic. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is seen here
After 9:30 pm the responsibilities are usually combined and delegated a single person as the airport sees less traffic later in the night.
A supervisor apparently chose to those tasks before the set up cutoff time however, and enabled one air traffic controller to leave work early.
The FAA report stated that staffing configuration 'was not regular for the time of day and volume of traffic'.
Reagan National has been understaffed for several years, with simply 19 completely licensed controllers as of September 2023 - well below the target of 30 - according to the most current Air Traffic Controller Workforce Plan submitted to Congress.
The situation appeared to have actually improved since then, as a source informed CNN the Reagan National control tower was 85 percent staffed with 24 of 28 positions filled.
Chronic understaffing at air traffic control towers is nothing brand-new, with popular causes including high turnover and budget plan cuts.
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In order to fill the spaces, controllers are frequently asked to work 10-hour days, six 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 said: 'This NTSB action is highly unusual. The release of an emergency situation recommendation asking for the FAA take immediate action, before the conclusion of the NTSB examination is unusual.'
The 2 aircraft had actually collided in a huge fireball that was noticeable on dashcams of automobiles driving on highways that snake around the airport, before plunging into the river.
Less than a month later on, on February 17, a Delta guest aircraft crashed-landed upside down in chaotic scenes at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Canada.
Miraculously, everyone on board endured after being suspended upside-down by their seatbelts for several minutes up until they tentatively started evacuating.
The plane had actually been heading to Toronto from Minneapolis - Saint Paul International Airport with 76 guests and 4 crew members on board.
Some 21 people were taken to the medical facility for treatment to small injuries, and Delta has offered everyone a no-strings $30,000 payout in compensation.
And the airplane carnage is ongoing - on Sunday, yet another jet crash-landed, this time in a parking lot of a rural Pennsylvania retirement home.
Dramatic footage showed the Beechcraft A36TC appear in flames in the parking lot of Brethren Village in Manheim Township. Five people were rushed to medical facility.
Medics, ambulances, and emergency situation lorries hurried to the scene in Lancaster County as flames swallowed up the plane and neighboring lorries.
The airplane took off as scheduled on Sunday afternoon, but rapidly asked for to land back on the tarmac due to the fact that its door had actually opened.
American Airlines
