Crash Warning as Report into DC Disaster at Reagan Airport Is Released > 자유게시판

Federal private investigators have raised issues of a potential for another fatal aircraft crash at Reagan National Airport, after a midair accident earlier this year eliminated 67.

The National Transportation Safety Board gave an upgrade on their examination into the cause of the disaster which occurred on January 29 in Washington.

An American Airlines jetliner and a Black Hawk military helicopter clashed in midair over the Potomac River, eliminating everyone on board both airplanes.

As part of a preliminary report launched on Tuesday, investigators raised issues of more collisions involving helicopters at the airport.

NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said: 'We remain concerned about the considerable potential for future mid-air collision at DCA.'

Her concerns revolve around Transport Secretary Sean Duffy moving to restrict helicopter traffic around the area, but that is set to stop at the end of the month.

When police, medical or presidential transport helicopters must utilize the space civilian planes are stopped from being in the exact same location.

Homendy said the NTSB is now suggesting that the FAA find a 'irreversible service' for alternate routes for helicopters when 2 of the airport's runways are in usage.

Emergency units respond after a passenger aircraft collided with 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 accident

It was also revealed on Tuesday that there was alerting check in the lead up to the deadly catastrophe.

Those penetrating the crash went through 944,179 operations in between October 2021 and December 2024.

It was discovered that 15,214 'near-miss occasions' of airplanes getting alerts about helicopters remaining in close distance in between October 2021 and December 2024.

The NTSB likewise said that there were 85 cases where two airplane where laterally divided by less than 1,500 feet, and a vertical separation of less than 200 feet.

Homendy added: 'That data from October 2021 through December 2024, (the FAA) could have utilized that info whenever to determine that we have a trend here and an issue here, and looked at that path; that didn't happen, which is why we're taking action today. But regrettably, individuals lost lives, and enjoyed ones are grieving.'

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy slammed these findings at a later interview on Tuesday.

Duffy stated: 'I believe the question is when this information is available in how did the FAA not know. How did they not study the information to state "hi, this is a hot spot, we are having near misses out on and if we don't change our ways we are gon na lose lives".'

He added: 'That wasn't done, perhaps there was a focus on something aside from safety.'

Duffy would later on when questioned by a reporter about the near misses out on that the information had 'p *** ed him off'.

Pictured: Parts of the wreckage seen sitting in the Potomac River after Flight 5342 hit an Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday night, killing 67 people

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Investigators think that the helicopter included in the crash may have had incorrect altitude readings in the minutes before the crash.

The accident most likely took place at an elevation simply under 300 feet, as the airplane descended towards the chopper, which was above its 200-foot limit for that area.

On Tuesday American Airlines invited the report by the NTSB, stating: 'We're grateful for the National Transportation Safety Board's urgent security suggestions to restrict helicopter traffic near DCA and for its extensive investigation.

'We will continue to coordinate closely with PSA Airlines as it cooperates as an investigative party member.'

The helicopter pilots might have likewise missed out on part of another interaction, when the tower said the jet was turning towards a different runway, Homendy said last month.

The helicopter was on a 'check' flight that night where the pilot was undergoing a yearly test and a test on utilizing night vision goggles, Homendy said.

Investigators believe the crew was wearing night vision goggles throughout the flight.

The Army has stated the Black Hawk crew was highly experienced, and accustomed to the crowded skies around the nation ´ s capital.

At the time of the crash, a single air traffic controller was simultaneously keeping an eye on both the helicopter and airplane traffic.

Those jobs are typically handled in between two people from 10am up until 9:30 pm, according to an early FAA report seen by The New york city Times.

Those tasks are usually dealt with in between 2 people from 10am until 9:30 pm, according to the report.

Surveillance footage 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 at the same time keeping an eye on both the helicopter and airplane traffic. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is seen here

After 9:30 pm the duties are typically integrated and delegated one person as the airport sees less traffic later in the night.

A manager supposedly decided to combine those tasks before the arranged cutoff time however, and enabled 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 numerous years, with simply 19 totally accredited controllers as of September 2023 - well listed 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 brand-new, with popular causes consisting of high turnover and budget plan cuts.

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In order to fill the gaps, controllers are often asked to work 10-hour days, 6 days a week.

After the release of the report, former Inspector General of the US Department of Transportation Mary Schiavo deemed the findings as 'uncommon'.

She stated: 'This NTSB action is highly uncommon. The release of an emergency recommendation requesting the FAA take immediate action, before the conclusion of the NTSB examination is unusual.'

The two aircraft had actually collided in a big fireball that was visible on dashcams of cars and trucks driving on highways that snake around the airport, before plunging into the river.

Less than a month later on, on February 17, a Delta traveler airplane crashed-landed upside down in disorderly scenes at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Canada.

Miraculously, everybody on board endured after being suspended upside-down by their seat belts for numerous minutes till they tentatively started evacuating.

The plane had been heading to Toronto from Minneapolis - Saint Paul International Airport with 76 travelers and four team members on board.

Some 21 people were required to the healthcare facility for treatment to minor injuries, and Delta has actually offered everyone a no-strings $30,000 payment in payment.

And the plane carnage is ongoing - on Sunday, yet another jet crash-landed, this time in a parking area of a rural Pennsylvania retirement community.

Dramatic footage revealed the Beechcraft A36TC emerge in flames in the parking lot of Brethren Village in Manheim Township. Five people were rushed to hospital.

Medics, ambulances, and emergency cars rushed to the scene in Lancaster County as flames engulfed the plane and nearby automobiles.

The airplane took off as set up on Sunday afternoon, but quickly asked for to land back on the tarmac because its door had opened.

American Airlines