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Federal detectives have actually raised concerns of a potential for another deadly aircraft crash at Reagan National Airport, after a midair crash previously this year killed 67.

The National Transportation Safety Board gave an update on their investigation into the cause of the disaster which happened on January 29 in Washington.

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

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

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

Her concerns focus on Transport Secretary Sean Duffy moving to restrict helicopter traffic around the area, however that is set to cease at the end of the month.

When police, medical or governmental transport helicopters need to use the space civilian airplanes are stopped from remaining in the same location.

Homendy said the NTSB is now suggesting that the a 'irreversible service' for detours for helicopters when 2 of the airport's runways are in use.

Emergency systems react after a traveler airplane collided with 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 press reporters about the 29 January mid-air accident

It was likewise exposed on Tuesday that there was alerting check in the lead up to the deadly catastrophe.

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

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

The NTSB likewise stated that there were 85 cases where 2 aircraft where laterally divided 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 information any time to figure out that we have a pattern here and a problem here, and took a look at that route; that didn't happen, which is why we're doing something about it today. But sadly, individuals lost lives, and loved ones are grieving.'

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

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

He included: 'That wasn't done, perhaps there was a concentrate on something besides security.'

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

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

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Investigators believe that the helicopter involved in the crash might have had inaccurate elevation readings in the minutes before the crash.

The collision likely occurred at an elevation just under 300 feet, as the aircraft came down towards the chopper, which was above its 200-foot limit for that area.

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

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

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

The helicopter was on a 'check' flight that night where the pilot was undergoing an annual test and a test on using night vision goggles, Homendy said.

Investigators think the crew was wearing night vision goggles throughout the flight.

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

At the time of the accident, a single air traffic controller was all at once keeping an eye on both the helicopter and airplane traffic.

Those tasks are normally handled in between two people from 10am up until 9:30 pm, according to an early FAA report seen by The New York Times.

Those tasks are typically managed in between 2 people from 10am up until 9:30 pm, according to the report.

Surveillance video taken from inside the airport caught the minute the 2 collided in midair

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

After 9:30 pm the duties are typically integrated and left to someone as the airport sees less traffic later on in the night.

A supervisor supposedly decided to integrate those responsibilities 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 normal for the time of day and volume of traffic'.

Reagan National has actually been understaffed for several years, with just 19 completely certified controllers as of September 2023 - well below the target of 30 - according to the most recent Air Traffic Controller Workforce Plan sent to Congress.

The circumstance appeared to have actually enhanced given that then, 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 towers is absolutely nothing brand-new, with well-known causes including high turnover and budget plan 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, previous 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 recommendation asking for the FAA take instant action, before the conclusion of the NTSB examination is uncommon.'

The 2 airplane had actually collided in a big fireball that was visible on dashcams of cars and trucks driving on highways that snake around the airport, before plunging into the river.

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

Miraculously, everybody on board made it through after being suspended upside-down by their seat belts for a number of minutes up until they tentatively started leaving.

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

Some 21 people were required to the hospital for treatment to small injuries, and Delta has offered each person a no-strings $30,000 payment in settlement.

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

Dramatic video showed the Beechcraft A36TC emerge in flames in the car park of Brethren Village in Manheim Township. Five individuals were rushed to hospital.

Medics, ambulances, and emergency situation automobiles hurried to the scene in Lancaster County as flames engulfed the plane and neighboring cars.

The plane took off as arranged 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