A recent video footage unveils the final moments leading up to the mid-air collision between a commercial plane and a military helicopter in Washington DC last year. The clip, lasting nine seconds and broadcasted by CBS News’s ’60 Minutes,’ captures the American Airlines aircraft ascending just before crashing into a Black Hawk helicopter above the Reagan National Airport in the US capital. Tragically, all 64 passengers aboard the plane and three soldiers on the helicopter lost their lives in the aviation disaster on January 29, 2025.
The incident, considered one of the most severe aviation tragedies in the US in over twenty years, occurred as the American Airlines flight was making its approach to the airport. In a recent report released in January, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) attributed the catastrophic collision to a sequence of systemic failures within the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The NTSB investigation revealed that the FAA’s decision to permit helicopters to operate in close proximity to the airport without adequate separation measures from airplanes, along with its negligence in reviewing data and implementing suggestions to reroute helicopter traffic away from the airport, were key factors in the accident.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy highlighted that despite efforts by the airport’s air traffic control tower personnel to raise concerns, necessary actions were not taken, emphasizing that the collision could have been entirely prevented. Homendy stressed the urgent need for substantial reforms in aviation safety protocols. The NTSB report also pointed out deficiencies in the Army’s safety practices and faulted the Army pilot for failing to effectively detect and avoid the approaching passenger aircraft.