According to reports, the military helicopter flight has forced at least two airplanes to land on Reagan National Airport a week before 67 people died on Wednesday.
On Tuesday night, one day before the clash between American Airlines Flight and the Army Black Hawk Helicopter, another airplane had to stop landing to avoid collisions with helicopters in the air traffic control tower. I warned. Washington Post reported。
Another airplane arriving at DCA from Charlotte has landed on January 23 for helicopter.
Richard Heart, a flight passenger on January 23, talked to the Washington Post: “At that time, I felt it strange. … I feel it is tragic to anxiety.”
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On January 30, 2025, the crew regained the remnants of the American Airlines 5342 on the Potomac River in Washington DC. The plane was a fatal collision with the US military Black Hawk Helicopter the night before. (Fox News Digital League Rean)
The two close calls took place within a week of the terrible collision on Wednesday. In this collision, the inbound commercial flight from Wichita, Kansas collided with a military helicopter across the Potomac River. A total of 64 people, including the four crew members, were on the 5342 flights to the US Airlines, and there were three soldiers. Army Cikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk It came from Fort Berbore in Virginia. It is estimated that everything is dead.
This tragedy raised concerns about frequent military training flights around Reagan National Airport. This was reported by a post, including a helicopter lane, which intersects the aircraft flight route in the southeast approach to the runway 33, which the US Eagle flight 5342 from Wichita tried to land on Wednesday. 。
The Federal Aviation Bureau has led a report that a helicopter helicopter -dedicated air control officer in the National Airport Tower has quoted information sources that are familiar to tower operation.
However, an internal preliminary report from the FAA reported that the number of staff working in the DCA air control tower showed that the time and traffic were not normal on Wednesday.
“The configuration of the position was not normal between traffic time and amount,” said the report.
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The graphic indicates the timeline of the airplane CRASH drop near Reagan National Airport near Washington DC. (Fox News)
Despite the report that the personnel are “unusual,” those who are familiar with this issue told Fox News Digital that the DCA control tower arrangement on Wednesday night is at the normal level.
He explained that the position would be regularly combined if the air controller had to leave the console for a break or if he was involved in changing the shift. The controller explained that it may be necessary to leave when air traffic is slow, and talked about anonymously to discuss the internal procedure.
The supervisor has the ability to combine roles, but this applies to Wednesday night, but the person who is familiar with this problem cannot say that. When asked about the previous report that it was heavy on air transportation and Wednesday night, the sources said it was calm.
The story of the Washington Post quoted the FAA data and found that about 88,000 helicopter flights were operated within 30 miles between 2017 and 2019, in 2023 government explanations to parliament in 2023. I quoted the report of the responsibility bureau.
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Part of the wreckage is expected to search for the water of the Potmax River after an airplane approaching Reagan National Airport collides with a river near Washington DC on January 30, 2025. (Via Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP Getty Images)
Regulatory authorities tried to define a safe route in which military helicopters fly without obstructing commercial flights or taking off to the airport. 2021 GAO's report said, “In the airspace near the Reagan National and the Potomax River, FAA further restricts the maximum altitude of helicopters with commercial passenger airplane operations to ensure all aircraft safety. Masu.”
On Wednesday night, the air traffic controller contacted the Blackhawk pilot and asked if he could see the approaching commercial aircraft because he was ready to land on the runway 33.
“Can you see CRJ?” The controller asked, and the helicopter pilot confirmed that he had seen the passenger seat. The pilot demanded “visual separation”. This means that according to Flightradar24 audio, he was trying to get out of the flight.
The plane and helicopter collided at an instant with a fierce explosion.
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A general view of Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia on Thursday, January 30, 2025. American Airlines from Wichita, Kansas, collided with Black Hawk Helicopter while approaching the airport to land the night before. (Fox News Digital League Rean)
Jim Braukuru, a navigator of a former US Air Force, a lawyer representing the family of aerial disaster, said that it may be difficult to find obstacles to Fox News Digital. 。
“I flew at night and tried to see and see transportation, so most people would say,” Oh, how difficult it is to miss passenger aircraft. ” You should be able to see it. But it's more difficult, rather than expecting people, “he said.
In the night, in such an urban environment Washington DC, Or, in northern Virginia, pilots may not be able to see other aircraft, and instead, according to Brauchle, they may depend on collision prevention and landing lights. However, the light of the tall buildings and tower illuminated may make it difficult to distinguish the light belonging to other aircraft.
“I heard from the audio that they shouted [air traffic control]。 The helicopter said he was looking at the aircraft. It was another aircraft that had taken off. What they thought they saw was obviously not aircraft. “
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The cause of the collision is currently being investigated by the FAA and some other federal agencies.
According to the Washington Post, in the evening before the fatal collision before the fatal collision, the closing of 4514 Republic of Republic from Connecticut was reported. The pilot reported that he had to make a detour to an aviation control officer for an emergency warning of helicopter transportation under the aircraft.
The flight tracker map indicated that the plane was heading south toward Reagan National Airport along the Potmax River corridor, but changed westly to the west. The report has then landed safely at 8:16 pm.
Fox News Digital's Audrey Conklin, Greg Wehner, and Stephen Sorace have contributed to this report.
