ARLINGTON, Va. — Divers are set to return to the Potomac River on Friday as part of the ongoing recovery and investigation following a devastating midair collision that has tragically claimed the lives of 67 individuals, marking the deadliest aviation incident in the United States in nearly 25 years.
Authorities have successfully retrieved the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from the American Airlines aircraft involved in the collision with an Army helicopter during its landing approach at Ronald Reagan National Airport on Wednesday night. Investigators are meticulously analyzing various factors in what has been described by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairwoman as an “all-hands-on-deck event.”
All individuals aboard the two aircraft were fatally impacted, prompting a thorough examination of the military pilot’s maneuvers and the air traffic control procedures leading to the incident, wherein the helicopter entered the flight path of the American Airlines jet.
Air crash inquiries can span several months, and federal investigators have indicated that they will refrain from speculating about the cause at this time.
At least 28 bodies have already been recovered from the Potomac River. The American Airlines flight was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members, while the helicopter had three soldiers onboard.
According to a report from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), one air traffic controller was tasked with managing both helicopter traffic and the arriving and departing aircraft at the time of the accident. Typically, these responsibilities are divided between two controllers during busy periods, but on the night of the crash, an early consolidation of roles was ordered by the tower supervisor as traffic began to decline.
The report highlighted that “the position configuration was not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic.”
However, an insider stated that the staffing levels within the control tower that evening were standard, with roles combined when controllers take breaks or during shift changes. The FAA has been grappling with an ongoing shortage of air traffic controllers.
Officials confirmed that flight conditions were clear as the jet approached from Wichita, Kansas, carrying among its passengers a group of elite young figure skaters, their families, and coaches.
An Army aviation official noted that the helicopter crew, flying a Black Hawk, was “very experienced” and well-acquainted with the busy airspace surrounding the city.
Both pilots had previously navigated this specific route at night, marking it as routine for them, according to military officials.
The helicopter’s maximum allowable altitude at the time was 200 feet, although it remains uncertain whether this limit was breached. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth mentioned that altitude considerations may have played a role in the collision, and said that thorough analysis of the flight data is required before conclusions can be drawn.
Commercial flights at Reagan National Airport resumed around midday Thursday following the incident.
This tragic event represents the deadliest aviation accident in the U.S. since November 12, 2001, when an American Airlines flight crashed into a residential area in Belle Harbor, New York, just after takeoff, resulting in the loss of all 260 passengers and crew members aboard, along with five fatalities on the ground.
The last major commercial airline crash before this incident was in 2009 near Buffalo, New York, claiming the lives of all aboard a Bombardier DHC-8 propeller plane and one individual on the ground, totalling 50 deaths.
Experts stress that air travel is statistically very safe, noting that the National Safety Council estimates the chances of dying in a vehicle accident at 1 in 93, while aviation fatalities are too infrequent to calculate.
Navigating the airspace around Reagan National presents challenges even for seasoned pilots due to the high volume of commercial flights, military aircraft, and restricted zones near sensitive locations.
Remarkably, just over 24 hours prior to the tragic collision, a different regional jet needed to perform a go-around for a second landing attempt after being alerted to the presence of a military helicopter, ultimately landing safely soon after.
