ByREUTERS

A fatal collision between an American Airlines regional jet and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan Washington National Airport in January 2025 was the result of a "multitude of errors" and "systemic issues across multiple organizations," members of the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday.

The board is holding an all-day hearing and plans to propose dozens of safety recommendations to address failures before the crash. The NTSB disclosed in March that, since 2021, there have been 15,200 air separation incidents near Reagan involving commercial airplanes and helicopters, including 85 close-call events.

In December, the US Justice Department said the federal government was liable in the crash. The government admitted it "owed a duty of care to plaintiffs, which it breached, thereby proximately causing the tragic accident" and that the pilots of the helicopter and regional jet "failed to maintain vigilance so as to see and avoid each other."

The maximum altitude along the route the helicopter was taking was 200 feet, but the collision occurred at nearly 300 feet.

The Justice Department said a Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controller also failed to comply with an FAA order, and that, as a result of both agencies' conduct, the United States was liable for damages.

Rescuers on a boat work next to the wreckage of a Black Hawk helicopter at the site of the crash after it collided with the American Eagle flight 5342 which was approaching Reagan Washington National Airport and crashed into the Potomac River, outside Washington, U.S., January 30, 2025.
Rescuers on a boat work next to the wreckage of a Black Hawk helicopter at the site of the crash after it collided with the American Eagle flight 5342 which was approaching Reagan Washington National Airport and crashed into the Potomac River, outside Washington, U.S., January 30, 2025. (credit: KEVIN LAMARQUE/REUTERS)

Deadliest US air disaster in over 20 years

The crash over the Potomac River near the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was the deadliest US air disaster in more than 20 years.

The NTSB disclosed last year that in 2022, members of an FAA air traffic working group had urged moving helicopter traffic away from Reagan airport and establishing airborne "hot spots," but the proposal was rejected because the issue was "too political."

The FAA restricted helicopter flights in March after the National Transportation Safety Board said their presence posed an "intolerable risk" to civilian aircraft near Reagan National. In May, the FAA barred the US Army from helicopter flights around the Pentagon after a close call that forced two civilian planes to abort landings.