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Federal investigators have raised concerns of a capacity for another lethal plane crash at Reagan National Airport, after a midair collision previously this year killed 67.

The National Transportation Safety Board gave an upgrade on their examination into the cause of the catastrophe which took place on January 29 in Washington.

An American Airlines jetliner and a Black Hawk military helicopter clashed in midair over the Potomac River, killing everyone on board both airplanes.

As part of an initial report launched on Tuesday, private investigators raised issues of more collisions including helicopters at the airport.

NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy stated: 'We stay concerned about the considerable potential for future mid-air crash at DCA.'

Her issues focus on Transport Secretary Sean Duffy relocating to limit helicopter traffic around the location, however that is set to stop at the end of the month.

When cops, medical or presidential transport helicopters should utilize the space civilian aircrafts are stopped from remaining in the exact same area.

Homendy stated the NTSB is now suggesting that the FAA discover a 'irreversible option' for alternate routes for helicopters when two of the airport's runways remain in use.

Emergency systems respond after a passenger aircraft hit a helicopter in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington Airport on January 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia

Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Bureau (NTSB) Jennifer Homendy speaks to reporters about the 29 January mid-air crash

It was also revealed on Tuesday that there was cautioning check in the lead up to the deadly catastrophe.

Those penetrating the crash went through 944,179 operations between October 2021 and December 2024.

It was discovered that 15,214 'near-miss occasions' of aircrafts getting informs about helicopters remaining in close proximity between October 2021 and December 2024.

The NTSB likewise stated that there were 85 cases where 2 aircraft where laterally split by less than 1,500 feet, and a vertical separation of less than 200 feet.

Homendy added: 'That information from October 2021 through December 2024, (the FAA) could have utilized that information any time to figure out that we have a pattern here and an issue here, and looked at that route; that didn't occur, which is why we're acting today. But unfortunately, individuals lost lives, and loved ones are grieving.'

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy slammed these findings at a later press conference on Tuesday.

Duffy stated: 'I think the concern is when this information is available in how did the FAA not know. How did they not study the information to say "hello, this is a hot spot, we are having near misses and if we don't alter our methods we are gon na lose lives".'

He included: 'That wasn't done, possibly there was a focus on something aside from safety.'

Duffy would later included when questioned by a press reporter about the near misses out on that the information had 'p *** ed him off'.

Pictured: Parts of the wreckage seen being in the Potomac River after Flight 5342 hit an Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday night, killing 67 individuals

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Investigators believe that the helicopter associated with the crash might have had incorrect altitude readings in the minutes before the crash.

The accident most likely occurred at an altitude simply under 300 feet, as the plane descended towards the chopper, which was above its 200-foot limit for that area.

On Tuesday American Airlines welcomed the report by the NTSB, saying: 'We're grateful for the National Transportation Safety Board's urgent security suggestions to restrict helicopter traffic near DCA and for its thorough investigation.

'We will continue to collaborate carefully with PSA Airlines as it works together as an investigative party member.'

The helicopter pilots might have also missed part of another interaction, when the tower stated the jet was turning toward a different runway, Homendy stated last month.

The helicopter was on a 'check' flight that night where the pilot was undergoing a yearly test and a test on utilizing night vision safety glasses, Homendy said.

Investigators believe the crew was using night vision safety glasses throughout the flight.

The Army has said the Black Hawk crew was highly experienced, and accustomed to the crowded skies around the nation ´ s capital.

At the time of the accident, a single air traffic controller was concurrently keeping track of both the helicopter and airplane traffic.

Those tasks are generally dealt with between two people from 10am up until 9:30 pm, according to an early FAA report seen by The New york city Times.

Those jobs are generally handled in between 2 people from 10am till 9:30 pm, according to the report.

Surveillance video footage taken from inside the airport captured the minute the two collided in midair

At the time of the crash, a single air traffic controller was simultaneously monitoring both the helicopter and plane traffic. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is seen here

After 9:30 pm the responsibilities are usually combined and delegated a single person as the airport sees less traffic later on in the night.

A supervisor supposedly decided to combine those responsibilities before the arranged cutoff time however, and permitted one air traffic controller to leave work early.

The FAA report stated that staffing configuration 'was not regular for the time of day and volume of traffic'.

Reagan National has actually been understaffed for numerous years, with simply 19 fully licensed controllers as of September 2023 - well listed below the target of 30 - according to the most recent Air Traffic Controller Workforce Plan sent to Congress.

The situation appeared to have enhanced ever since, as a source informed CNN the Reagan National control tower was 85 percent staffed with 24 of 28 positions filled.

Chronic understaffing at air traffic control service towers is nothing brand-new, with widely known causes consisting of high turnover and budget cuts.

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In order to fill the spaces, controllers are regularly asked to work 10-hour days, 6 days a week.

After the release of the report, former Inspector General of the US Department of Transportation Mary Schiavo deemed the findings as 'unusual'.

She stated: 'This NTSB action is extremely unusual. The release of an emergency recommendation asking for the FAA take instant action, before the completion of the NTSB investigation is uncommon.'

The 2 airplane had collided in a substantial fireball that was noticeable on dashcams of automobiles driving on highways that snake around the airport, before plunging into the river.

Less than a month later, on February 17, a Delta passenger plane crashed-landed upside down in chaotic scenes at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Canada.

Miraculously, everyone on board made it through after being suspended upside-down by their seat belts for numerous minutes until they tentatively started evacuating.

The plane had been heading to Toronto from Minneapolis - Saint Paul International Airport with 76 guests and 4 team members on board.

Some 21 individuals were taken to the hospital for treatment to small injuries, and Delta has actually offered each individual a no-strings $30,000 payout in payment.

And the aircraft carnage is ongoing - on Sunday, yet another jet crash-landed, this time in a car park of a rural Pennsylvania retirement community.

Dramatic video revealed the Beechcraft A36TC erupt in flames in the car park of Brethren Village in Manheim Township. Five people were hurried to medical facility.

Medics, ambulances, and emergency situation automobiles rushed to the scene in Lancaster County as flames the aircraft and close-by vehicles.

The plane took off as set up on Sunday afternoon, however rapidly requested to land back on the tarmac since its door had actually opened.

American Airlines