Federal investigators have raised concerns of a capacity for another lethal airplane crash at Reagan National Airport, after a midair accident earlier this year eliminated 67.

The National Transportation Safety Board provided an upgrade on their examination into the reason for the disaster which happened 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, private investigators raised issues of more accidents involving helicopters at the airport.

NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said: 'We remain worried about the significant capacity for future mid-air accident at DCA.'

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

When police, medical or presidential transportation helicopters should use the space civilian planes are stopped from being in the exact same location.

Homendy stated the NTSB is now advising that the FAA discover a 'long-term service' for alternate paths for helicopters when 2 of the airport's runways are in use.

Emergency systems react after a traveler aircraft clashed 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 cautioning check in the lead up to the lethal disaster.

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

It was uncovered that 15,214 'near-miss events' of aircrafts 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 2 aircraft where laterally divided by less than 1,500 feet, and a vertical separation of less than 200 feet.

Homendy added: 'That information from October 2021 through December 2024, (the FAA) might have used that info any time to figure out that we have a pattern here and an issue here, and took a look at that path; that didn't take place, 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 think the question is when this data is available in how did the FAA not understand. How did they not study the information to say "hi, this is a location, we are having near misses 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 security.'

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 being in the Potomac River after Flight 5342 hit an Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday night, killing 67 people

Your internet browser does not support iframes.

Investigators think that the helicopter involved in the crash might have had incorrect altitude readings in the minutes before the crash.

The accident likely occurred at an elevation just under 300 feet, as the airplane came down toward the chopper, which was above its 200-foot limitation for that area.

On Tuesday American Airlines welcomed the report by the NTSB, saying: 'We're grateful for the National Transportation Safety Board's immediate safety suggestions to traffic near DCA and for its thorough examination.

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

The helicopter pilots may have likewise missed out on part of another communication, when the tower stated 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 going through a yearly test and a test on utilizing night vision goggles, Homendy said.

Investigators think the crew was using night vision goggles throughout the flight.

The Army has said the Black Hawk team was extremely experienced, and accustomed to the crowded skies around the country ´ s capital.

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

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

Those tasks are typically handled between 2 people from 10am until 9:30 pm, according to the report.

Surveillance footage drawn from inside the airport captured the moment the two clashed in midair

At the time of the accident, a single air traffic controller was concurrently keeping an eye on both the helicopter and aircraft traffic. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is seen here

After 9:30 pm the responsibilities are usually integrated and left to one individual as the airport sees less traffic later in the night.

A manager reportedly chose to integrate those responsibilities before the arranged cutoff time however, and permitted one air traffic controller to leave work early.

The FAA report stated that staffing setup 'was not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic'.

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

The scenario appeared to have improved given 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 service towers is absolutely nothing new, with widely known causes including high turnover and budget plan cuts.

EXCLUSIVE

Full list of DC aircraft crash victims: Four more passengers recognized after DC airport disaster

In order to fill the spaces, controllers are frequently 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 'unusual'.

She said: 'This NTSB action is extremely uncommon. The release of an emergency situation suggestion requesting the FAA take immediate action, before the completion of the NTSB investigation is rare.'

The 2 airplane had clashed 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 traveler plane crashed-landed upside down in chaotic scenes at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Canada.

Miraculously, everyone on board endured after being suspended upside-down by their seat belts for a number of minutes up until they tentatively started leaving.

The airplane had been heading to Toronto from Minneapolis - Saint Paul International Airport with 76 travelers and 4 team members on board.

Some 21 people were required to the health center for treatment to small injuries, and Delta has actually provided everyone a no-strings $30,000 payment in settlement.

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

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

Medics, ambulances, and emergency vehicles rushed to the scene in Lancaster County as flames swallowed up the plane and nearby lorries.

The aircraft took off as arranged on Sunday afternoon, but quickly requested to land back on the tarmac since its door had opened.

American Airlines