Policy Backgrounders

Air Safety: DCA Plane Crash and NTSB Investigation

February 06, 2025

The midair collision between an American Airlines regional jet and an Army helicopter that took place over the Potomac River near Washington National Airport (DCA) on January 29 was the Nation’s deadliest aviation disaster in nearly a quarter century. Immediately following the crash, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) launched an investigation into the cause of the incident, examining both the human and mechanical factors that caused the disaster.

• An early Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report determined that one air traffic controller (ATC) was responsible for coordinating both helicopter traffic and arriving and departing planes, which was “not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic.” Now, the investigative focus shifts to the NTSB.
• Investigators are looking into factors that may suggest that the pilots from the Black Hawk experienced vision impairment as well as whether the helicopter deviated from its normal altitude and efforts the airplane made to avoid the collision.
• On February 4, the NTSB shared that the Black Hawk’s altitude was 300 feet at the time of the collision. (This data is rounded to the nearest 100 feet.) Federal aviation rules for this airspace require that helicopters stay below 200 feet on routes above the Potomac.
• The NTSB’s investigation process generally takes between 12 and 24 months to complete; in the meantime, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has promised an effort at FAA reform and would be responsible, along with FAA, for making any necessary changes to flight operations at DCA.