On January 29, 2025, we saw a devastating accident near Washington National Airport (DCA), whereby a military Sikorsky UH-60 helicopter collided with an American Eagle CRJ-700, leading to 67 fatalities. This is the first crash of a US airliner since 2009.
Continue reading: American Eagle & Helicopter Close Call At DCA Day Prior To Disaster
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Obviously, commercial flying is still incredibly safe in aggregate. However, it is worrying that it takes such a catastrophic accident to reveal that there was basically an “accident waiting to happen” here. Doesn’t provide much reassurance to the public.
When I’ve been a GA pax with a friend, I was helping him spot traffic. It’s really tough to see traffic against the ground sometimes, especially as they get close to going under you. The helo wasn’t maintaining a consistent altitude in a known approach path and was going to be harder to spot for the Brickyard plan. Helo seems problematic on this one as well.
That video is eye-opening. Those controllers are juggling a lot, and that’s assuming that each plane and helo does what it is instructed to do. I’m going to be steering around DCA for awhile.
it was obvious from the first details that the problem was due to one of the two federal government agencies involved: the Dept. of Transportation which includes the DOT and specifically the FAA which oversees ATC or IT was caused by the Dept. of Defense.
It didn't take long to figure out that the military helicopter was too high and off course - and was involved in a training exercise.
It didn't take long before the FAA exerted its control and has put significant limitations on helicopter traffic near DCA, essentially challenging the DoD.
Even if there were ATC issues involved, it was always problematic to have VFR military traffic and IFR commercial traffic operating in such close proximity and in high volumes for both.
The military's ability to roam freely about DC and esp. near DCA will be the casualty even though there are those that immediately continued to argue for lower airline capacity at DCA.
ATC needs to be better staffed, the best people need to work there, but the rules need to be harmonized for military and civilian air operations.
If it really becomes necessary for the military to operate near DCA, civilian traffic needs to and will be stopped.
I am no longer going to fly into DCA. Getting into town from IAD is a pain but it seems your chances of arriving alive are better.
Army helicopter activity has been nonstop on recent years in the DC area. It is excessive. The VIPs needs to get Zoom or cars. There's plenty of military members yet not enough controllers?! Plus helicopters seem to have less technology than my ceiling fan or car. No capacity to sense other nearby objects without people hanging out the side of the helicopter. Blacks Hawks are garbage, and Army tech support seems to be zilch. Army should stop advertising on TV and donate funds to victims families. The army killed the passengers on the plane.
did you miss that the FAA banned helicopter flights in the area of DCA except for in defined emergencies and civil air traffic will be stopped if there are potential conflicts?
You are a little late and a dollar short. The problem should not have been allowed to get where it did but the corrective actions are not being put in place.
Some interesting comments from an aviation pilot forum puts this in perspective. It sounds like maintaining altitude in a Blackhawk while spotting traffic is pretty difficult even on the best days.
“I am putting myself in their shoes. I wonder if they were scanning really trying to acquire the aircraft and lost concentration on altitude. I was a hawk driver in a previous life and it takes just a smidge of back pressure on the cyclic to get a pretty good climb going. Further, maintaining 200 feet would require whoever is on the controls to be looking inside on the instrument panel quite a bit. Focusing outside for an extended amount of time would definitely cause the altitude to drift, and 100-200 feet is nothing.
You know, this has made me think at all of the times I made a mistake or got away with something while flying. Anyone who has flown for more than a day knows that all of us have had our share or screw ups, some small and some big. The more I look back the more I realize that at times it was dumb luck that kept me alive. So tragic for all involved.“
“ Spot on. I posted below on the other thread. To those of us that have done it, it's pretty clear how it could have happened. It's hard to explain how I felt when I first saw the video - like I had been there before. The bright lights, the halos, inside, outside, the chatter on the ICS and radio, trying to scan for traffic while maintaining exact lateral/vertical. Reading what you wrote, I instantly can tell you've been there as well. It's tragic and horrific. I was never assigned there and only flew in there a handful if times while at my regional, so had no knowledge this minimal separation was a thing. In hindsight it's amazing to me that there weren't better backstops to prevent something like this from happening.
--------Hindsight is 20/20, but the separation is mind boggling. The old 200' talking to, 300' phone number. But here we're comfortable with 100'-200' separating catastrophe... WTF. Anyone on here who's flown low level NVGs in high light/traffic areas can all probably relate to this incident - scanning for traffic, thinking you're looking at the traffic called not one of the numerous others in the vicinity, the visual illusions, through the NODs, under the NODs, inside, outside... I fart wrong , apply a little aft cycling and begin an unintentional climb...”
Probably the safest time to fly in/out of DCA is right now…oh the irony of people avoiding DCA!
As someone who lived in the DC Area for over 20 years, I never understood why so many military helicopters were in the DCA vicinity. I know a few are needed for actual security reasons, but now we learn that at least a good portion of these are for “VIP flights.” It’s time these “VIPs” realize they are government employees and NOT maharajas. If a general needs to get from Fort Belvoir to the Pentagon, they should get in a car like everyone else. Looks like this is an easy cut for DOGE to make. It’s just too bad it took the lives of 60+ people to make it happen.
I don’t know the exact situation in the US, but most countries have totally separated civilian and military ATC. Legally the military ATC usually prevails, except near civilian airports. I’m really surprised accidents are not more frequent.
The claim that this was the "first fatal crash of a US airliner since 2009" is inaccurate. PenAir flight 3296 was the last fatal crash of a US airliner and it was in 2019.
Actually the helicopter traffic is now severely restricted…. So yes it is true
It was only a matter of time in the US. It seemed week after week for the last couple of years there was a new "near miss" incident being reported. Everyone wrote it off as " you don't know aviation" or "they really weren't that close". Well now, unfortunately it happened... Something is seriously wrong in the US with ATC and aviation safety. It's a true miracle the overwhelming majority of flights take off and land safely at their destination...