Years before a Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines jet near Reagan National Airport, safety warnings and near-misses haunted the busy Washington, D.C. airspace, according to reports.
The collision occurred on January 29, killing all 67 people on board both aircrafts. While the incident marked the deadliest commercial airline crash on U.S. soil in 15 years, FAA records suggest similar incidents have almost occurred many times in recent years.
More than 100 airline pilots received warnings of potential mid-air collisions with a helicopter in the past decade near Reagan Airport, according to the Washington Post.
A crash nearly transpired in almost the exact same location as the recent tragedy in July 2018 when three military helicopters came within seconds of colliding with a plane that was touching down at Reagan, the New York Times reported. The helicopters had to quickly navigate around the plane, which an air traffic controller failed to warn was in danger.
The following year, an internal FAA report obtained by the Times warned that repeated air traffic controller error increased “the risk of a collision and loss of life.” Still, alarming encounters persisted.
A series of close calls occurred at Reagan as recently as last year, with incidents of aircraft nearly hitting each other reported three times in March, once in April, and yet another in May, according to theTimes.
A combination of issues have plagued the area, including an air traffic control staffing shortage, the chronic busyness around the air space in the nation’s capital, and communications issues.
When reached for comment, the FAA told The Independent in a statement: “We cannot comment on anything related to an open NTSB-led investigation. The FAA looks into every incident and reviews large volumes of data on a daily basis to try to identify and address potential trends before they become serious issues.”
Air traffic control staffing
Reagan’s air traffic control tower was understaffed at the time of the incident and earlier, according to the Times, adding strain to employees in an already stressful job.
The air traffic control tower was about 20 percent below its target staffing level last month, with 23 fully certified controllers instead of 28, the outlet reported. The staffing shortage doesn’t just pertain to Reagan but is part of a larger trend across the country. Almost all — more than 90 percent — of the 313 air traffic control facilities in the U.S. operate below the FAA’s recommended staffing levels, the outlet previously reported.
During the January collision, air traffic control staffing was “not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic,” a FAA report said. Eight people were on duty: five fully trained controllers, one in training, one supervisor, and one supervisor-in-training, according to the Times. One controller monitoring helicopters near the airport was also monitoring planes.
Concerns over air traffic control staffing and fatigue have prompted controllers to try to take matters into their own hands.
In the wake of the near-miss in July 2018, military officials, air traffic controllers, and pilots formed safety groups in light of the persistent air traffic issues around Reagan, according to the Times.
Some have submitted anonymous reports to NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System, with 10 reports highlighting these apprehensions in 2024 alone, CNN reported.
Managing the busy airspace
Some also warned about difficulties managing the busy air space.
In 2020, some air traffic controllers at Reagan warned their managers in writing about the “challenges of maintaining required distances” between helicopters and airplanes, the Washington Post reported. It’s not immediately clear if or how the FAA responded.
Safety groups at Reagan also raised concerns about the helicopter corridor, pointing out spots where the collision possibility was highest and proposing moving helicopter paths further east, according to the Times. The FAA has investigated six midair close calls involving helicopters near Reagan since 2013, the Post reported.
A former air traffic controller said the site of the Black Hawk-American Airlines jet crash “is a known hot spot.” He told the Post: “If they want to prevent this, they have to move that route.” He added: “Why is that route still there?”
Communication issues
Controllers have been criticized for not adhering to FAA communication rules or ensuring safe distances between aircrafts, sources familiar with safety reports told the outlet.
The air traffic controller on duty when the military helicopter collided with the American Airlines jet didn’t use the proper terms when communicating with pilots, former and current controllers told the Times.
Although pilots in both vehicles should have been alerted that they were heading for a collision, the controller didn’t warn the American Airlines pilot about the helicopter.
The controller also didn’t inform the helicopter pilots, who said they had an aircraft “in sight,” the location of the American Airlines plane relative to the helicopter, leaving open the possibility they could have confused the American Airlines jet with another nearby plane.
In the final moments, the controller directed the helicopter to “pass behind” the jet, according to the Times.
The cause of the tragedy is still under investigation.
