Today's Friday Edition was researched and written by Tangle Editor Will Kaback.
On Wednesday, January 29, an Army Black Hawk helicopter carrying three soldiers collided with an American Airlines plane carrying 60 passengers and four crew members over the Potomac River. The plane had been approaching Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., and was preparing to land when the helicopter intersected its path, killing all 67 people. The crash was the deadliest air accident in the U.S. since November 12, 2001.
The crash prompted immediate questions about why modern aviation safety systems failed to prevent the disaster. Furthermore, the visceral nature of the accident — a mid-air explosion followed by a freefall into the water — adds a layer of unease to these questions as Americans try to make sense of the tragedy.
Today, we’ll explore five aspects of the crash: what we know so far, the leading theories about what caused it, what reforms might be needed, whether DEI initiatives or changes to aviation safety standards were involved, and the implications for public safety. In Tangle fashion, we consulted a wide range of opinions during our research, and we’ll feature analysis from four aviation experts throughout the edition. They are:
Steve Scheibner, also known as Captain Steeeve, a pilot with over 40 years of experience. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1983–1991, and deployed three times during his service. Since then, Scheibner has flown for American Airlines and is currently a captain on the airline’s Boeing 777 fleet. [Editor’s note: Scheibner spoke with us individually and not as a representative of American Airlines. His opinion should not be construed as the position of the airline.]
Elizabeth McCormick, a U.S. Army veteran and former Black Hawk Helicopter pilot for the Army. During her service, McCormick flew missions as a Chief Warrant Officer, including UN peacekeeping, air assault, command and control, VIP, multi-ship, and top-secret military intelligence missions. She received the Meritorious Service Medal and the U.S. Congressional Veteran Commendation. She is now an author and motivational speaker.
David Soucie is a former Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety inspector and accident investigator. He’s also the author of the books Why Planes Crash, Safer Skies and Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Soucie is currently a safety analyst for CNN, where he contributes to reports on aviation topics.
A Tangle reader who spoke to us on the condition of anonymity. This reader is currently a pilot for a major U.S. airline and has flown commercial airplanes for over 40 years. During his career, he has regularly flown in and out of Reagan National Airport. We’ll refer to him as ANP (Anonymous Pilot).
Before we dive in, here are a few terms we’ll use throughout the piece:
- DCA — the airport designator for Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C.
- FAA, the Federal Aviation Administration — the federal government agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in the United States.
- NTSB, the National Transportation Safety Board — an independent government agency that investigates civil transportation accidents. The NTSB is leading the investigation into the crash in Washington, D.C.
- ATC, air traffic control — ground-based controllers at airports whose directive is to prevent collisions, organize and expedite the flow of air traffic, and provide information and support for pilots.
- Black Hawk, specifically, the UH-60 Black Hawk — the military aircraft involved in the crash. The helicopter is manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft and is used by the United States Army as a “utility tactical transport” aircraft for a range of activities, from air assault to relief operations.
- TCAS, the Traffic Collision Avoidance System — a safety system designed to prevent mid-air collisions. TCAS monitors the airspace around an aircraft by detecting other aircraft equipped with transponders. The system provides pilots with traffic advisories and recommends evasive maneuvers to avoid collisions if necessary.
What we know (and what we don’t).
The airplane involved in the crash was American Eagle Flight 5342, a Bombardier CRJ700 jet operated by PSA Airlines for its parent carrier, American Airlines. The helicopter was a UH-60 Black Hawk with a three-person crew that was on a training flight.
Flight 5342 was en route to DCA from Wichita, Kansas, and was making its final approach to Runway 33 at DCA at around 8:45pm ET, having been diverted to this runway at ATC’s request. ATC routinely diverts smaller regional jets to the 5,200-foot runway to relieve pressure on the 7,000-foot Runway 1, which is the nation’s busiest and averaged roughly 800 takeoffs and landings per day in 2023. DCA as a whole is a highly congested airspace, with overlapping commercial and military aircraft activity and strict airspace restrictions due to the airport’s proximity to the White House, Pentagon, U.S. Capitol, and other important government buildings.
Minutes before the crash, radio transmissions show that ATC alerted the Black Hawk helicopter to the presence of Flight 5342. A member of the helicopter crew requested “visual separation,” which ATC granted, meaning the helicopter pilot took responsibility for avoiding the other aircraft by keeping it within their line of sight, rather than using separation distances provided by ATC. Less than a minute later, the controller asked the helicopter for a second confirmation that it had the jet in sight and instructed the pilot to "pass behind" the American Airlines jet. A member of the helicopter crew again confirmed that they saw the plane and requested visual separation for a second time, which was granted.
It is unclear whether the helicopter crew saw Flight 5342 or if it mistakenly identified a different aircraft as the one it was meant to avoid. The Pentagon said that the helicopter crew members were carrying night-vision goggles on the flight, but we do not know whether they were wearing them at the time of the crash. According to The New York Times, military helicopter pilots routinely train with night vision goggles, as they are required to fly a certain number of hours at night with the goggles every year.
If the crew members were wearing night-vision goggles in the run-up to the accident, their field of vision would have been significantly restricted, as the view through the goggles is monochromatic and reduces vision from the usual 180-degree field to a 40-degree arc (see this helpful simulation). Additionally, the high volume of air traffic around DCA — in addition to lights from buildings and the night sky — could have confused the helicopter crew.
Additionally, investigators are looking into whether staffing in the control tower contributed to the crash. Several news outlets have reported that one controller was tasked with managing both helicopter and airplane traffic around DCA when the incident occurred, jobs typically divided between two people. Last Friday, The Washington Post also reported that one controller had been allowed to end their shift early (aviation experts have noted that this is not an unusual practice).
This week, investigators have begun honing in on the Black Hawk’s altitude prior to the accident. Data from a ground-based radar suggested the helicopter was flying higher than approved prior to the crash; it was not permitted to fly above 200 feet but appears to have been at approximately 300 feet, while the passenger jet’s flight recorder showed its altitude as 325 feet (plus or minus 25 feet) at the time of the accident.
Furthermore, the helicopter was reportedly a half-mile off from where it should have been based on the predetermined route that had been approved before it entered the DCA airspace. Investigators are also looking into why Flight 5342 pitched upward in the final moments before the crash, which could signal that the plane’s pilots saw the helicopter at the last moment and tried to take evasive action.
On Tuesday, authorities announced they had recovered the bodies of all 67 victims from the accident. The NTSB, in coordination with the Naval Sea Systems Command Supervisor of Salvage and Diving, has also recovered most of the wreckage from both aircraft, as well as their flight recorders (also known as black boxes), which contain data and voice recordings from the flights. The NTSB expects to publish a preliminary report on the accident within 30 days and a final report within 12–24 months.
What may have caused the crash?
In my conversations with the four aviation experts and a review of the NTSB’s daily briefings, four key factors have emerged as likely contributors to the crash: failures in communication, ATC staffing, distractions within the Black Hawk, and congestion in the DCA airspace.
