A series of grave miscommunications in one of the most crowded and complex patches of sky in the US likely caused Wednesday night’s deadly midair crash between an American Airlines passenger plane and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport, The Post can reveal.
The crash, which killed all 64 people aboard the packed Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas — plus three people on the chopper — is the deadliest US air disaster since 2001.
Less than 20 seconds before the collision, an air traffic controller warned the chopper that it was getting too close to the CRJ-700 passenger jet, and the experienced helicopter pilot acknowledged.
However, The NY Post reports experts believe the helicopter pilot may have maneuvered to avoid the wrong plane — a jet of the same model that was taking off farther away — and never saw the American Airlines flight until it was too late.
The Black Hawk helicopter was apparently flying too high — at about 400 feet — when it collided with the American Airlines jet, which was rapidly descending after it was cleared for landing, experts said.
However, because of the close quarters around Reagan National — there is just 50 feet separating the maximum allowable altitude for helicopters and the minimum altitude for planes that are landing in the spot — leaving almost no room for error.
Officials have not yet offered a possible cause for the crash, however, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Thursday that the tragedy was “absolutely” preventable.
JESSE WATTERS: “We now know that one air controller was doing the job of two. They’re supposed to have 30 air traffic controllers in the tower, but they only had 19.” pic.twitter.com/WyW7zqfHvC
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) January 31, 2025
It also has been learned another flight arriving at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was forced to abort landing due to helicopter traffic just 24 hours before the tragic midair crash between an American Airlines plane and a Black Hawk chopper, according to a report.
Republic Airways Flight 4514, from Bradley International Airport in Connecticut, had to make a second approach at Reagan National on Tuesday — after a helicopter appeared near the plane’s flight path, the Washington Post reported.
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