Federal detectives have raised issues of a capacity for another lethal aircraft crash at Reagan National Airport, after a midair crash earlier this year killed 67.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Homendy said the NTSB is now advising that the FAA discover a 'permanent solution' for alternate paths for helicopters when 2 of the airport's runways are in usage.

Emergency systems 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 speaks with reporters about the 29 January mid-air crash

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

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

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

The NTSB likewise said that there were 85 cases where two airplane 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) might have used that information whenever to figure out that we have a pattern here and a problem here, and looked at that route; that didn't occur, which is why we're acting today. But unfortunately, individuals lost lives, and enjoyed ones are grieving.'

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

Duffy said: 'I believe the concern is when this data is available in how did the FAA not understand. How did they not study the data to say "hello, this is a location, we are having near misses and if we don't change our ways we are gon na lose lives".'

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

Duffy would later added 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 collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday night, killing 67 individuals

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

The collision most likely occurred at an altitude just under 300 feet, as the airplane descended toward the chopper, which was above its 200-foot limit for that place.

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

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

The helicopter pilots might have likewise missed part of another interaction, when the tower said the jet was turning toward a various 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 using night vision goggles, Homendy said.

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

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

At the time of the collision, a single air traffic controller was at the same time keeping an eye on both the helicopter and aircraft traffic.

Those jobs are normally dealt with in between 2 individuals from 10am till 9:30 pm, according to an early FAA report seen by The New York Times.

Those jobs are typically dealt with between two individuals from 10am until 9:30 pm, according to the report.

Surveillance video drawn from inside the airport captured the moment the 2 collided in midair

At the time of the accident, 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 tasks are usually combined and left to a single person as the airport sees less traffic later in the night.

A manager apparently chose to combine those tasks before the arranged cutoff time nevertheless, and permitted one air traffic controller to leave work early.

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

Reagan National has actually been understaffed for several years, with just 19 fully licensed controllers since 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 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 towers is absolutely nothing brand-new, with popular causes including high turnover and budget cuts.

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

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

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

The two airplane had clashed in a substantial fireball that showed up on dashcams of cars driving on highways that snake around the airport, before plunging into the river.

Less than a month later on, on February 17, a Delta guest plane crashed-landed upside down in disorderly 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 numerous minutes till they tentatively began evacuating.

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

Some 21 individuals were taken to the health center for treatment to small injuries, and Delta has actually offered everyone a no-strings $30,000 payout in compensation.

And the plane carnage is continuous - on Sunday, yet another jet crash-landed, this time in a parking lot of a rural Pennsylvania retirement home.

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

Medics, ambulances, and emergency situation automobiles rushed to the scene in Lancaster County as flames swallowed up the plane and nearby vehicles.

The plane took off as set up on Sunday afternoon, but quickly requested to land back on the tarmac due to the fact that its door had opened.

American Airlines