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Fatal Midair collision between American Airlines jet and Army Helicopter (1 Viewer)

Penguin

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A passenger aircraft carrying 64 people collided midair with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport outside of Washington, DC, as it approached the runway, according to the Federal Aviation Administration and defense officials.

The search and rescue operation for survivors of Wednesday’s plane collision is becoming more grim, according to a law enforcement source.

The source described images from rescuers as “stunning,” saying it was hard to make out what they were seeing. The plane, they said, was in several pieces.

Two law enforcement sources and a source familiar with the situation confirm that no survivors had been recovered at this point.

Officials are preparing for this to be the deadliest disaster in DC in decades since an Air Florida Flight crashed into the 14th Street Bridge, connecting Arlington, Virginia, and Washington, DC, in 1982, according to the source.

Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser will be part of the 12:30 a.m. presser, her team says.
 
this is awful. not expecting any survivors it sounds like. aircraft is split in two and under water.

ATC told helicopter to pass behind CRJ, but obviously didn't. If i recall, they would have been on different bands (UVF and VHF). Not sure helicopter ever heard them.
 
this is awful. not expecting any survivors it sounds like. aircraft is split in two and under water.

ATC told helicopter to pass behind CRJ, but obviously didn't. If i recall, they would have been on different bands (UVF and VHF). Not sure helicopter ever heard them.
They were on different bands. It's easier and faster for the ATC to coordinate movement that way.

Sounds like the black hawk didn't maintain visual deconfliction like they were asked to. Obviously unsure why at the moment.

Terrible tragedy.
 
The Blackhawk was in stealth mode, wasn't a lot of lights coming off of it and the plane full of passengers including many from the US figure skating team are comfirmed to be on board that plane, this is a tragedy all the way around. The pilot for the plane had no clue that Backhawk was close by and the helicopter pilot obviously doesn't seem to be aware of the passenger plane for whatever reason, not sure how he could miss seeing it

30 bodies have been pulled so far from the Potomac River
:crying:
 
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Pilot, Co-Pilot plus a spotter on board the Blackhawk, how did they not see a commercial airplane coming?
3 soldiers were on board the Blackhawk, not to mention how busy this area is they were flying over
This is just awful
 
Pilot, Co-Pilot plus a spotter on board the Blackhawk, how did they not see a commercial airplane coming?
3 soldiers were on board the Blackhawk, not to mention how busy this area is they were flying over
This is just awful
The video all over Twitter that shows the collision is quite startling. There is also another plane flying above the crash that seems a bit closer than it should be (at least to my naive eyes) .
 
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Pilot, Co-Pilot plus a spotter on board the Blackhawk, how did they not see a commercial airplane coming?
3 soldiers were on board the Blackhawk, not to mention how busy this area is they were flying over
This is just awful
The video all over Twitter that shows the collision is quite startling. There is also a third plane flying above the crash that seems a bit closer than it should be (at least to my naive eyes) .
There's some speculation that, based on the audio between the helicopter and ATC, the pilot did have a visual on a plane but not the one they hit.
 
Brings back terrible memories for those of us old enough to remember the Air Florida crash on the 14th Street bridge

My dad used to have a pilot’s license and would sometimes go to the park at Gravelly Point, just off the runway, with his air traffic radio and listen to tower talk as planes came in right overhead

It’s incredibly congested and complex airspace because of all the security restrictions. One airline guy told my dad that National was “the last fun approach” because of all the twists and turns. Short runway too, I’ve had a couple “slam dunk” landings there where the plane rapidly descends from a higher altitude than usual. Not a fun approach to me!

So tragic, they would never let an airport be built there today but it remains because it’s so incredibly convenient for government officials. 10 minutes from Capitol Hill
 
Pilot, Co-Pilot plus a spotter on board the Blackhawk, how did they not see a commercial airplane coming?
3 soldiers were on board the Blackhawk, not to mention how busy this area is they were flying over
This is just awful
The video all over Twitter that shows the collision is quite startling. There is also another plane flying above the crash that seems a bit closer than it should be (at least to my naive eyes) .
I thought the same, it could be the optics of that plane taking off from a nearby runway going in the same direction.
 
In an age where we have electric cars that drive for us how does this happen? So sad. So horrible. So tragic. Just shocked that something like this can still happen in 2025. Prayers and thoughts to those casualties. To my veterans that have fallen I salute you with a sad heart.
 
The Senate added more routes into Reagan National last year. The only 4 to vote against it were the Maryland and Virginia senators, because they heeded warnings the airport was already overcrowded (and presumably can drive home from Capitol Hill, rather than fly out of DCA)

I always feel like that place is an accident waiting to happen. My kid flies out of there to get back and forth to college but I think I’m not doing that anymore
 
So damn sad.
I fly AA into that airport all the time. I’m doing it next week. I have so many coworkers in DC and in the military.

This just hits hard. Damn.
I live right there, and, yep, same on flying in and out there all of the time. I was watching the news late into the night last night. My in-laws are flying back out of DCA this afternoon. Sounds like they are planning to re-open the airport at 11am; so, it looks like their flight will still happen.
 
Brings back terrible memories for those of us old enough to remember the Air Florida crash on the 14th Street bridge

My dad used to have a pilot’s license and would sometimes go to the park at Gravelly Point, just off the runway, with his air traffic radio and listen to tower talk as planes came in right overhead

It’s incredibly congested and complex airspace because of all the security restrictions. One airline guy told my dad that National was “the last fun approach” because of all the twists and turns. Short runway too, I’ve had a couple “slam dunk” landings there where the plane rapidly descends from a higher altitude than usual. Not a fun approach to me!

So tragic, they would never let an airport be built there today but it remains because it’s so incredibly convenient for government officials. 10 minutes from Capitol Hill
I lived in NoVA for many years and flew into/out of National many times including before I moved there. Flew the shuttles from LaGuardia to National and we had hard and fast landings all the time. You got used to it but way different than flying into the big airports. This is awful.
 
The Senate added more routes into Reagan National last year. The only 4 to vote against it were the Maryland and Virginia senators, because they heeded warnings the airport was already overcrowded (and presumably can drive home from Capitol Hill, rather than fly out of DCA)

I always feel like that place is an accident waiting to happen. My kid flies out of there to get back and forth to college but I think I’m not doing that anymore
To close DCA they really need to finish the metro line to Dulles. Is that done yet?
 
The Senate added more routes into Reagan National last year. The only 4 to vote against it were the Maryland and Virginia senators, because they heeded warnings the airport was already overcrowded (and presumably can drive home from Capitol Hill, rather than fly out of DCA)

I always feel like that place is an accident waiting to happen. My kid flies out of there to get back and forth to college but I think I’m not doing that anymore
To close DCA they really need to finish the metro line to Dulles. Is that done yet?
That is open, but Dulles still not very convenient depending on where you are.
 
My wife's ex-husband witnessed the crash from point blank range. He was on the flight right behind the AA flight and was just about to land. He saw the giant fireball, and the pilot immediately swerved and climbed to avoid it. They landed at another airport. That's his second uber close call flying. He was booked on one of the 9/11 flights out of Boston but got there early and took an earlier flight. IIRC, he was the only person that switched off any of the Boston flights. Talk about having a guardian angel.
 
Helo was from 12th aviation at Belvoir. They fly White top Blackhawks that support SecDef, CJCS and other big wigs—highly competent pilots.
I was wondering if it was going between the WH and Andrews, but it sounds like it was a different route. Would they have been coming from the Pentagon? I wouldn't think so based on the map of where the collision occurred.
 
BBC hasn’t confirmed it but says a site which streams air traffic control has audio from the air traffic tower warning the helicopter of the plane but not receiving a reply back from the helicopter.


There is going to be confusion on this as the ATC uses different bands to talk to the helicopters.
 
Helo was from 12th aviation at Belvoir. They fly White top Blackhawks that support SecDef, CJCS and other big wigs—highly competent pilots.
I was wondering if it was going between the WH and Andrews, but it sounds like it was a different route. Would they have been coming from the Pentagon? I wouldn't think so based on the map of where the collision occurred.

This helps there are routes these helos fly and he was on "route 1" which puts them at 200 agl.
 
Pilot, Co-Pilot plus a spotter on board the Blackhawk, how did they not see a commercial airplane coming?
3 soldiers were on board the Blackhawk, not to mention how busy this area is they were flying over
This is just awful
The video all over Twitter that shows the collision is quite startling. There is also a third plane flying above the crash that seems a bit closer than it should be (at least to my naive eyes) .
There's some speculation that, based on the audio between the helicopter and ATC, the pilot did have a visual on a plane but not the one they hit.
No way a helicopter should be flying across final approach path.
 
Pilot, Co-Pilot plus a spotter on board the Blackhawk, how did they not see a commercial airplane coming?
3 soldiers were on board the Blackhawk, not to mention how busy this area is they were flying over
This is just awful
The video all over Twitter that shows the collision is quite startling. There is also a third plane flying above the crash that seems a bit closer than it should be (at least to my naive eyes) .
There's some speculation that, based on the audio between the helicopter and ATC, the pilot did have a visual on a plane but not the one they hit.
No way a helicopter should be flying across final approach path.
They do this constantly
 
Helo was from 12th aviation at Belvoir. They fly White top Blackhawks that support SecDef, CJCS and other big wigs—highly competent pilots.
I was wondering if it was going between the WH and Andrews, but it sounds like it was a different route. Would they have been coming from the Pentagon? I wouldn't think so based on the map of where the collision occurred.
It does not look like from the Pentagon based on the flight path that I was seeing. Looked like it was flying a patrol route south over the Potomac and went over Hains Point right before the collision.

This has a map of the helicopter flight path: https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/30/us/maps-plane-helicopter-crash-dca-dg/index.html
 
Pilot, Co-Pilot plus a spotter on board the Blackhawk, how did they not see a commercial airplane coming?
3 soldiers were on board the Blackhawk, not to mention how busy this area is they were flying over
This is just awful
The video all over Twitter that shows the collision is quite startling. There is also a third plane flying above the crash that seems a bit closer than it should be (at least to my naive eyes) .
There's some speculation that, based on the audio between the helicopter and ATC, the pilot did have a visual on a plane but not the one they hit.
No way a helicopter should be flying across final approach path.
They do this constantly
Maybe they should stop it. Seems like a recipe for disaster.
 
Helo was from 12th aviation at Belvoir. They fly White top Blackhawks that support SecDef, CJCS and other big wigs—highly competent pilots.
I was wondering if it was going between the WH and Andrews, but it sounds like it was a different route. Would they have been coming from the Pentagon? I wouldn't think so based on the map of where the collision occurred.
It does not look like from the Pentagon based on the flight path that I was seeing. Looked like it was flying a patrol route south over the Potomac and went over Hains Point right before the collision.

This has a map of the helicopter flight path: https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/30/us/maps-plane-helicopter-crash-dca-dg/index.html
Yeah, I originally had only seen the map that cuts off at Hains Point at the top of the picture so my first thought was WH. Pentagon didn't make much sense to me either. I don't get why you'd ever cross the Potomac at that location. I've seen many helicopters cross relatively low around the Wilson Bridge. Planes would be a bit higher at that location.
 

Flight tracking audio shows no response from helicopter after air traffic control warning

Less than 30 seconds before the crash, an air traffic controller asks the helicopter if it has the arriving plane in sight: “PAT25, do you have the CRJ in sight?”

The controller makes another radio call to PAT25 moments later: “PAT 25 pass behind the CRJ.”

The two aircraft collide seconds later.

The audio from flight tracking sites doesn’t record any response from the helicopter, if any, to the warnings from air traffic control.

The plane’s radio transponder stopped transmitting about 2,400 feet (730 meters) short of the runway, roughly over the middle of the river.
 

Flight tracking audio shows no response from helicopter after air traffic control warning

Less than 30 seconds before the crash, an air traffic controller asks the helicopter if it has the arriving plane in sight: “PAT25, do you have the CRJ in sight?”

The controller makes another radio call to PAT25 moments later: “PAT 25 pass behind the CRJ.”

The two aircraft collide seconds later.

The audio from flight tracking sites doesn’t record any response from the helicopter, if any, to the warnings from air traffic control.

The plane’s radio transponder stopped transmitting about 2,400 feet (730 meters) short of the runway, roughly over the middle of the river.

These media outlets are awful. Zero of that is true.
 

Flight tracking audio shows no response from helicopter after air traffic control warning

Less than 30 seconds before the crash, an air traffic controller asks the helicopter if it has the arriving plane in sight: “PAT25, do you have the CRJ in sight?”

The controller makes another radio call to PAT25 moments later: “PAT 25 pass behind the CRJ.”

The two aircraft collide seconds later.

The audio from flight tracking sites doesn’t record any response from the helicopter, if any, to the warnings from air traffic control.

The plane’s radio transponder stopped transmitting about 2,400 feet (730 meters) short of the runway, roughly over the middle of the river.

These media outlets are awful. Zero of that is true.
What are you talking about? They release the audio. The helicopter responded on a different channel... SOP.

But it is not in the audio recording with ATC
 
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My wife's ex-husband witnessed the crash from point blank range. He was on the flight right behind the AA flight and was just about to land. He saw the giant fireball, and the pilot immediately swerved and climbed to avoid it. They landed at another airport. That's his second uber close call flying. He was booked on one of the 9/11 flights out of Boston but got there early and took an earlier flight. IIRC, he was the only person that switched off any of the Boston flights. Talk about having a guardian angel.
Real life Final Destination stuff. If I was him I'd just start walking everywhere, damn.
 

Flight tracking audio shows no response from helicopter after air traffic control warning

Less than 30 seconds before the crash, an air traffic controller asks the helicopter if it has the arriving plane in sight: “PAT25, do you have the CRJ in sight?”

The controller makes another radio call to PAT25 moments later: “PAT 25 pass behind the CRJ.”

The two aircraft collide seconds later.

The audio from flight tracking sites doesn’t record any response from the helicopter, if any, to the warnings from air traffic control.

The plane’s radio transponder stopped transmitting about 2,400 feet (730 meters) short of the runway, roughly over the middle of the river.

These media outlets are awful. Zero of that is true.
What are you talking about? They release the audio. The helicopter responded on a different channel... SOP.

But it is not in the audio recording with ATC
Exactly
 
Collision Technology for sure on the Blackhawk, plane had its lights on and was lit up pretty well for it's normal approach to the runway
-CEO for AA did say it was out of the norm for a helicopter to be traveling thru that exact area where the planes approach and land

I don't think it will take long to determine this falls on the helicopter and the Army. (I'm wrong) 8-12 months being reported for the investigation timeline...
The family of the victims is where the focus needs to be, and that's what the AA CEO said as well.
 
These media outlets are awful. Zero of that is true.
Zero? What media outlet is presenting the truth then?
There are several youtube channels that cover ATC and air mishaps on the daily. I posted two of them. They are pros at assembling the relevant information as it comes in.
Ok can you summarize what really happened and what media outlets got wrong rather than having us to wade through several youtube channels?
 
These media outlets are awful. Zero of that is true.
Zero? What media outlet is presenting the truth then?
There are several youtube channels that cover ATC and air mishaps on the daily. I posted two of them. They are pros at assembling the relevant information as it comes in.
Ok can you summarize what really happened and what media outlets got wrong rather than having us to wade through several youtube channels?
It’s been explained several times in this thread by others. They responded on a different frequency. So, they responded, but the audio shared did not capture their response.
 
These media outlets are awful. Zero of that is true.
Zero? What media outlet is presenting the truth then?
There are several youtube channels that cover ATC and air mishaps on the daily. I posted two of them. They are pros at assembling the relevant information as it comes in.
Ok can you summarize what really happened and what media outlets got wrong rather than having us to wade through several youtube channels?
It’s been explained several times in this thread by others. They responded on a different frequency. So, they responded, but the audio shared did not capture their response.
OK this is more helpful than someone just stating " these media outlets are awful. Zero of that is true". Thanks
 
The Senate added more routes into Reagan National last year. The only 4 to vote against it were the Maryland and Virginia senators, because they heeded warnings the airport was already overcrowded (and presumably can drive home from Capitol Hill, rather than fly out of DCA)

I always feel like that place is an accident waiting to happen. My kid flies out of there to get back and forth to college but I think I’m not doing that anymore
To close DCA they really need to finish the metro line to Dulles. Is that done yet?
I would bet no way in hell they close DCA metro line or not. That's a huge chunk of time in and out of DC to waste getting to IAD.
 
Very scary. But checked in with all my people and they weren't involved, though literally heard from someone who saw it because they were landing at the same time more or less. Lots of confusion with friends (and teammates) flying in and out of there every evening.
 

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