Deadly air traffic mistakes revealed in Reagan National crash: NYT

A report from the New York Times shows how one failure after another led up to the deadliest

mid-air crash in nearly a quarter of a century. On January 29th at Reagan National Airport

an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines regional jet over the Potomac

River, killing all 67 people aboard both aircraft. According to the Times, the Black Hawk crew

piloted by Captain Rebecca Lobach, failed to follow a crucial course change ordered by air

traffic control seconds before impact. Her co-pilot, Chief Warrant Officer Andrew Lloyd Eves

also warned her to turn left, but the helicopter never changed course. Investigators found the

Blackhawk was flying too high and entered the landing path of the incoming plane from Wichita

Kansas. Communication breakdowns compounded the problem. The Times reports a critical instruction

from the control tower was likely blocked or stepped on when the Blackhawk crew transmitted

on the radio at the same time, meaning they may not have heard the full command to pass behind the

jet The Blackhawk crew was operating under visual separation rules a common but risky practice putting responsibility for avoiding other aircraft on the pilots themselves According to the National Transportation Safety Board this method has been linked to multiple deadly collisions in recent years

Key safety systems were also offline. The Blackhawk's automatic location broadcast system was disabled for a training exercise

forcing controllers to rely on radar updates refreshing only every 5 to 12 seconds

At the same time, a single controller was managing both helicopter and commercial traffic, a role usually handled by two people

The Times reports there was at least one close call every month between helicopters and airplanes near Reagan National Airport between 2011 and 2024, with most incidents happening at night

After the crash, the FAA restricted helicopter routes near Runway 33, the shorter runway involved in this incident

The final NTSB report is expected early next year, but so far investigators say multiple failures across pilot actions, controller procedures and systems all contributed to the deadly collision

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