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

Federal detectives have raised concerns of a potential for another lethal airplane crash at Reagan National Airport, after a midair crash previously this year killed 67.

The National Transportation Safety Board gave an update on their examination into the reason for the disaster which took place on January 29 in Washington.

An American Airlines jetliner and a Black Hawk military helicopter collided in midair over the Potomac River, killing everybody on board both aircrafts.

As part of a preliminary report launched on Tuesday, detectives raised concerns of more crashes involving helicopters at the airport.

NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy stated: 'We remain worried about the considerable potential for future mid-air accident at DCA.'

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

When cops, medical or governmental transport helicopters should utilize the area civilian airplanes are stopped from being in the exact same area.

Homendy stated the NTSB is now recommending that the FAA discover a 'permanent service' for detours for helicopters when 2 of the airport's runways are in use.

Emergency units react after a traveler 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 with reporters about the 29 January mid-air crash

It was likewise exposed on Tuesday that there was warning check in the lead up to the fatal catastrophe.

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

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

The NTSB likewise said that there were 85 cases where two aircraft 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 used that details at any time to figure out that we have a trend here and a problem here, and looked at that route; that didn't occur, which is why we're taking action today. But unfortunately, individuals lost lives, and loved ones are grieving.'

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

Duffy said: 'I believe the question is when this information is available in how did the FAA not understand. How did they not study the data to state "hello, this is a hot area, we are having near misses and if we do not alter our methods 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 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 sitting in the Potomac River after Flight 5342 clashed with an Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday night, killing 67 individuals

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Investigators believe that the helicopter included in the crash might have had inaccurate altitude readings in the minutes before the crash.

The accident most likely took place at an altitude simply under 300 feet, as the aircraft descended towards the chopper, which was above its 200-foot limitation for that location.

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 restrict helicopter traffic near DCA and for its thorough investigation.

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

The helicopter pilots might have likewise missed out on part of another communication, when the tower said 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 goggles, Homendy said.

Investigators believe the team was wearing night vision goggles 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 collision, a single air traffic controller was all at once keeping an eye on both the helicopter and airplane traffic.

Those tasks are usually handled in between 2 people from 10am until 9:30 pm, according to an early FAA report seen by The New york city Times.

Those jobs are generally managed in between two individuals from 10am up until 9:30 pm, according to the report.

Surveillance footage taken from inside the airport recorded the moment the two clashed in midair

At the time of the crash, a single air traffic controller was concurrently monitoring both the helicopter and airplane traffic. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is seen here

After 9:30 pm the duties are usually combined and left to someone as the airport sees less traffic later on in the night.

A supervisor supposedly chose to integrate those tasks before the scheduled cutoff time however, and allowed one air traffic controller to leave work early.

The FAA report said that staffing configuration 'was not typical for the time of day and volume of traffic'.

Reagan National has been understaffed for several years, with simply 19 totally certified controllers as of September 2023 - well listed below the target of 30 - according to the most recent Air Traffic Controller Workforce Plan sent to Congress.

The situation appeared to have actually improved considering that then, 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 towers is nothing brand-new, with popular causes consisting of high turnover and spending 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 deemed the findings as 'uncommon'.

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

The two airplane had 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 February 17, a Delta passenger 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 seatbelts for a number of minutes up until they tentatively started leaving.

The aircraft had been heading to Toronto from Minneapolis - Saint Paul with 76 passengers and 4 crew members on board.

Some 21 individuals were required to the healthcare facility for treatment to minor injuries, and Delta has provided everyone a no-strings $30,000 payout in compensation.

And the plane carnage is continuous - on Sunday, yet another jet crash-landed, this time in a parking lot of a suburban Pennsylvania retirement home.

Dramatic video showed the Beechcraft A36TC erupt in flames in the parking lot of Brethren Village in Manheim Township. Five people were hurried to health center.

Medics, ambulances, and emergency situation lorries rushed to the scene in Lancaster County as flames swallowed up the aircraft and close-by lorries.

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

American Airlines