DOOMED FLIGHT
American Airlines CEO blames military helicopter for DC plane crash as near misses & flight path tracker add to mystery
An expert said the fatal crash is a 'wake-up call' for the FAA
THE CEO of American Airlines has blamed a military helicopter for the devastating midair collision that killed 64 people in Washington DC.
Officials have no clear answer as to why an American Airlines passenger jet and a Black Hawk military helicopter crashed in a fatal incident on Wednesday night.
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All people onboard the American Airlines plane, 60 passengers and four crew members, are feared dead in the deadliest aviation disaster in 24 years, officials said on Thursday.
At least 30 bodies have been pulled from the Potomac River after the Black Hawk smashed into the American Airlines plane, breaking the aircraft in three pieces as it plunged into the frigid waters.
“At this time, we don’t know why the military aircraft came into the path of the PSA aircraft,” American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said on Thursday morning.
Video of the helicopter's on a tracker website sparked concern online as it was seen flying near three other aircraft right before the crash.
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Some even called the Black Hawk's movement "erratic" as it curved to fly along the river and appeared to nearly intersect multiple planes.
However, pilots shot down claims those moments were near misses.
Experts online said there would have been "significant" vertical separation between the helicopter and the other planes it passed before the crash.
It comes as...
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- All 64 passengers are feared dead
- At least 28 bodies pulled from the Potomac River
- CCTV captures moment of the crash
- Chilling audio reveals the final moments of flight
- World champion figure skaters believed to be on board
- Figure skater shared now-tragic picture inside the plane
- Another skater barely dodged the flight
- Husband reveals wife's final text from doomed jet
- Rescue efforts hindered by freezing & dark conditions
The difference in altitude between the aircraft causing speculation isn't made immediately clear in the flight tracker videos.
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The military helicopter flew at around 200 feet, according to flight tracker history by .
The planes that appeared to come close to the helicopter were actually flying at around 6,000 feet and 4.000 feet, meaning they were nowhere near each other.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said altitude was likely a factor in the fatal collision, in contrast to the vastly different elevations in the suspected near misses.
"There was some sort of an elevation issue that we have immediately begun investigating," Hegseth said.
Conditions were also clear at the time of the crash, according to Sean Duffy, the new secretary of transportation, at a press conference on Thursday.
PREVIOUS CLOSE CALLS
The area over the Ronald Reagan National Airport is a notoriously crowded airspace as the Federal Aviation Administration investigated at least three near-misses in recent years.
In May 2024, an American Airlines jet preparing for takeoff almost collided with a King Air plane arriving nearby.
In another incident, JetBlue and Southwest planes nearly crashed on a runway due to instructions from air traffic controllers.
First DC plane crash victims identified as US teen figure skaters traveling with moms and world-famous coaches
FAA investigated both of the incidents.
Duffy said the helicopter and plane were traveling normal routes for the area.
"Prior to the collision, the flight paths that were being flown, from the military and from American, that was not unusual for what happens in the D.C. airspace," Duffy said.
"This happens every day," he added.
"Something went wrong here."
Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk fact file
A SIKORSKY UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed into an American Airlines plane carrying 64 people on January 29. The collision happened as the jet was about to land at Reagan national airport.
Army personnel have used Black Hawk helicopters since the late 1970s.
Black Hawk helicopters don't just transport troops; the flying machines are used in search and rescue missions, and deliver supplies to war-torn nations.
Here are some facts about the helicopter:
- Cost: Between $5.9 million and $10.2 million.
- Top speed: 183mph.
- Range: 1,380 miles.
- Engines: Powered by two electric engines that have 2,000 horsepower each.
- Length: 50 feet one inch.
- Height: 16 feet 10 inches.
- Troop capacity: Up to 11 fully equipped soldiers.
President Donald Trump also suggested the military helicopter might be at fault.
"The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport," Trump wrote on Truth Social early Thursday morning.
"The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time.
"It is a clear night, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn," he said, adding that it "looks like it should have been prevented."
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The president later said at a press conference on Thursday he heard the audio tapes of the pilots on the American Airlines flight and that they did everything right.
After saying diversity efforts could be to blame for the fatal collision, he vowed to bring back Americans' trust in airlines.
'WAKE-UP CALL'
Instead of blaming the helicopter or the American Airlines pilots, an aviation expert pointed the finger at the FAA's "bad management."
"This is a problem we have with air traffic control," Boyd Group International President Mike Boyd said on Mornings with Maria on Thursday.
"We messed around with air traffic control for 30 years. Now we have deaths in the Potomac because of it.
"So this is a wake-up call for the new administration, which means, fix the FAA and fix it soon before more people die."
Washington DC plane crash victims
A mid-air collision between American Airlines flight 5342 and a military helicopter on January 29, 2025, left dozens presumed dead. The confirmed victims include:
- Captain Jonathan Campos, 34
- First Officer Samuel Lilley, 29
- Flight attendant Ian Epstein
- Flight attendant Danashia Brown Elder
- Spencer Lane, 16
- Christine Lane
- Jinna Han, 16
- Jin Han
- Evgenia Shishkova, 52
- Vadim Naumov, 55
- Alexandr Kirsanov
- Asra Hussain Raza, 26
- Black Hawk crew chief Ryan O'Hara
Hegseth said the military members aboard the helicopter were a "fairly experienced crew" doing an "annual proficiency training flight."
“It was doing the required annual night evaluation," Hegseth said.
"They did have night vision goggles."
All takeoffs and landings were paused at the DC airport until 11 am local time.
Officials told passengers to check with airlines about canceled or delayed flights.
The FAA directed The U.S. Sun to the National Transportation Safety Board for comment.
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The NTSB hasn't returned The U.S. Sun's request for comment.
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