Federal detectives have actually raised issues of a capacity for another fatal airplane crash at Reagan National Airport, after a midair crash earlier this year 67.

The National Transportation Safety Board provided an upgrade on their examination into the cause of the disaster which occurred on January 29 in Washington.

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

As part of an initial report launched on Tuesday, investigators raised issues of more crashes involving helicopters at the airport.

NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy stated: 'We remain worried about the substantial potential for future mid-air accident at DCA.'

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

When police, medical or governmental transport helicopters should use the space civilian airplanes are stopped from being in the exact same area.

Homendy said the NTSB is now recommending that the FAA discover a 'irreversible service' for alternate paths for helicopters when two of the airport's runways are in usage.

Emergency units respond after a traveler airplane 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 talks to reporters about the 29 January mid-air accident

It was also revealed on Tuesday that there was warning signs 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 revealed that 15,214 'near-miss occasions' of planes getting signals about helicopters being in close distance in between October 2021 and December 2024.

The NTSB also stated that there were 85 cases where two 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 used that details any time to determine that we have a pattern here and a problem here, and looked at that route; that didn't take place, which is why we're taking action today. But sadly, individuals lost lives, and enjoyed ones are grieving.'

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

Duffy said: 'I believe the question is when this data is available in how did the FAA not know. How did they not study the information to state "hi, this is a hot spot, we are having near misses out on and if we do not alter our ways we are gon na lose lives".'

He added: 'That wasn't done, maybe there was a concentrate on something other than security.'

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

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

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Investigators think that the helicopter included in the crash may have had incorrect altitude readings in the minutes before the crash.

The collision likely took place at an altitude just under 300 feet, as the aircraft descended toward the chopper, which was above its 200-foot limitation for that area.

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

'We will continue to collaborate closely with PSA Airlines as it cooperates as an investigative celebration member.'

The helicopter pilots may have likewise missed out on part of another interaction, when the tower stated the jet was turning toward a different runway, Homendy said last month.

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

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

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

At the time of the crash, a single air traffic controller was all at once monitoring both the helicopter and plane traffic.

Those jobs are usually managed in between 2 individuals from 10am till 9:30 pm, according to an early FAA report seen by The New york city Times.

Those tasks are typically handled between two people from 10am till 9:30 pm, according to the report.

Surveillance video footage drawn from inside the airport captured the moment the two clashed in midair

At the time of the collision, a single air traffic controller was concurrently keeping track of both the helicopter and airplane traffic. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is seen here

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

A supervisor supposedly decided to combine those tasks before the scheduled cutoff time however, and enabled one air traffic controller to leave work early.

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

Reagan National has actually been understaffed for several years, with simply 19 totally licensed controllers as of September 2023 - well below the target of 30 - according to the most current Air Traffic Controller Workforce Plan submitted to Congress.

The scenario appeared to have actually improved ever since, as a source told 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 popular causes consisting of high turnover and budget cuts.

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In order to fill the spaces, controllers are often 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 said: 'This NTSB action is highly uncommon. The release of an emergency situation suggestion requesting the FAA take instant action, before the conclusion of the NTSB examination is rare.'

The two aircraft had clashed in a big fireball that showed up 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 traveler aircraft crashed-landed upside down in chaotic scenes at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Canada.

Miraculously, everybody on board endured after being suspended upside-down by their seat belts for several minutes till they tentatively started evacuating.

The airplane had been heading to Toronto from Minneapolis - Saint Paul International Airport with 76 guests and four crew members on board.

Some 21 people were required to the medical facility for treatment to minor injuries, and Delta has actually provided each person a no-strings $30,000 payout in payment.

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

Dramatic video revealed the Beechcraft A36TC erupt in flames in the parking area of Brethren Village in Manheim Township. Five people were rushed to healthcare facility.

Medics, ambulances, and emergency automobiles hurried to the scene in Lancaster County as flames engulfed the airplane and neighboring lorries.

The plane took off as scheduled on Sunday afternoon, but quickly asked for to land back on the tarmac due to the fact that its door had actually opened.

American Airlines