According to a new report, a military Black Hawk helicopter pilot that collided with a passenger plane in Washington, DC in January collided with a passenger plane in Washington, DC in January.
The report, published Sunday by the New York Times, details Black Hawk’s interactions with air traffic controllers leading up to the disaster, killing 67 people.
According to the report, Black Hawk pilot Colonel Rebeccarobach was conducting her annual flight assessment, with her co-pilot, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Lloyd Eves serving as her flight instructor.
When air traffic controllers informed Black Hawk that there was a passenger plane nearby, Lobach and Eves admitted the message, requesting that they fly with “visual separation.”
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Emergency workers will retrieve debris from the Potomac River in the aftermath of the American Eagle Flight 5342 and Black Hawk helicopter collision, as seen from Virginia on January 30, 2025. (Reuters/Carlos Barrier)
“The Blackhawk was 15 seconds away from the intersection with the Jet. The warrant officer turned his attention to Captain Robach. He believed that air traffic control wanted them to turn left towards East Riverbank,” the Times said.
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“When I turned left, there was more space between the helicopter and the 5342 flight, which was heading towards Runway 33 at an altitude of about 300 feet. She did not turn left,” the report said.
The body lies on the ground next to the emergency vehicle after a US Eagle Flight 5342 collided with a Black Hawk helicopter when it approached Reagan Washington National Airport and crashed into the Potomac River outside Washington, DC on January 30, 2025. (Carlos Barrier/Reuters)
The crash, which fell, prompted a national scrutiny on air traffic control policies in transport seconds. Sean Duffy begins his investigation.
Duffy announced plans in March to enhance airport air traffic control systems with the latest technology over the next four years, but used artificial intelligence (AI) to identify “hotspots” where close encounters between aircraft often occur.
I made a close mistake of 85 Close call at Reagan National, According to a report from the National Travel Safety Board (NTSB). In the event of a vertical separation of less than 200 feet and a lateral separation of 1,500 feet between the aircraft, a close call was identified as an incident.
President Donald Trump will listen as the Secretary of Transportation listens at the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, DC on Thursday, January 30, 2025. (Alex Brandon/AP photo)
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“We’re almost making mistakes. If we don’t change our paths, we’ll lose our lives,” Duffy told reporters at the time. “It wasn’t going on. Maybe it was focused on something other than safety, but in this administration, we’re focusing on safety.”
