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

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

An American Airlines jetliner and a Black Hawk military helicopter clashed in midair over the Potomac River, eliminating everyone on board both aircrafts.

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

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

Her issues focus on 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 police, medical or presidential transport helicopters need to utilize the space civilian aircrafts are stopped from being in the same location.

Homendy said the NTSB is now suggesting that the FAA discover a 'irreversible option' for detours for helicopters when 2 of the airport's runways are in use.

Emergency units respond after a traveler aircraft collided 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 speaks with reporters about the 29 January mid-air collision

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

The NTSB also said that there were 85 cases where two airplane where laterally divided by less than 1,500 feet, and a vertical separation of less than 200 feet.

Homendy included: 'That information from October 2021 through December 2024, (the FAA) could have used that information whenever to identify that we have a pattern here and an issue here, and took a look at that route; that didn't occur, which is why we're taking action today. But sadly, individuals lost lives, and liked ones are grieving.'

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

Duffy said: 'I think the question is when this information can be found in how did the FAA not know. How did they not study the information to state "hi, this is a hot spot, we are having near misses and if we do not alter our methods we are gon na lose lives".'

He included: 'That wasn't done, possibly there was a concentrate on something aside from safety.'

Duffy would later on 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, eliminating 67 people

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

The crash most likely happened at an altitude simply under 300 feet, as the plane came down towards the chopper, which was above its 200-foot limit for that place.

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

'We will continue to collaborate carefully with PSA Airlines as it works together as an investigative celebration member.'

The helicopter pilots might have likewise missed part of another interaction, when the tower said the jet was turning toward a various runway, Homendy stated last month.

The helicopter was on a 'check' flight that night where the pilot was undergoing a yearly test and a test on using night vision goggles, Homendy said.

Investigators believe the crew was wearing night vision safety glasses throughout the flight.

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

At the time of the crash, a single air traffic controller was all at once monitoring both the helicopter and aircraft traffic.

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

Those jobs are normally managed between 2 people from 10am until 9:30 pm, according to the report.

Surveillance video footage taken from inside the airport caught the moment the 2 collided in midair

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

After 9:30 pm the duties are generally combined and delegated someone as the airport sees less traffic later in the night.

A manager supposedly decided to integrate those responsibilities before the scheduled cutoff time nevertheless, and permitted one air traffic controller to leave work early.

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

Reagan National has actually been understaffed for lots of years, with simply 19 fully licensed controllers as of September 2023 - well below the target of 30 - according to the most current Air Traffic Controller Workforce Plan sent to Congress.

The situation appeared to have actually improved since 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 absolutely nothing new, with popular causes including high turnover and spending plan cuts.

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In order to fill the gaps, 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 'unusual'.

She stated: 'This NTSB action is extremely unusual. The release of an emergency situation recommendation asking for the FAA take immediate action, before the completion of the NTSB examination is uncommon.'

The 2 airplane had actually collided in a huge fireball that showed up 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, on February 17, a Delta passenger airplane crashed-landed upside down in disorderly scenes at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Canada.

Miraculously, everyone on board endured after being suspended upside-down by their seat belts for numerous minutes until they tentatively began leaving.

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

Some 21 people were taken to the healthcare facility for treatment to small injuries, and Delta has actually provided everyone a no-strings $30,000 payout in settlement.

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

Dramatic footage revealed the Beechcraft A36TC erupt in flames in the car park of Brethren Village in Township. Five individuals were hurried to healthcare facility.

Medics, ambulances, and emergency vehicles hurried 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, but quickly requested to land back on the tarmac due to the fact that its door had opened.

American Airlines