Washington:

The recent collision between a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter and an American Eagle Flight 5342 near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport has brought attention to the safety record of the Black Hawk. Considered the “workhorse” of Army aviation, the Black Hawk has been in service since 1979 and has a reputation for being reliable and survivable in combat and transport missions.

With over 5,000 units built for 36 countries, the Black Hawk is widely used for various operations, including air assault and relief efforts. Despite its strong track record, the Black Hawk has been involved in several fatal incidents, including a collision during a training exercise in Kentucky that killed nine soldiers.

Retired Army Lt. Col. Darin Gaub told MSNBC, that the crew of the Black Hawk involved in the recent collision may not have been aware of the passenger jet’s presence, as video footage showed the helicopter did not change course or altitude before the crash. Gaub also pointed out that the training mission had fewer crew chiefs than usual, which may have reduced the crew’s ability to identify potential dangers. Usually such missions have three chew chiefs, however Wednesday’s had one. “That’s a fact,” he said. “It may have bearing in the future. It may not. But it does reduce ability of crew to identify an aircraft in flight at night.”

The Army has grounded its aviation units except for critical missions following the collision in Kentucky and another fatal incident involving Apache helicopters in Alaska. Army Chief of Staff James McConville stated that the stand-down was necessary to ensure the Army was taking all possible precautions to prevent accidents.

A review of fatal incidents involving Black Hawk helicopters found that while 60 people had died in training incidents over the previous decade, the Black Hawk has fewer deadly incidents relative to hours flown compared to other helicopters in the Army’s fleet. The review concluded that the Black Hawk is involved in far less fatal incidents than other helicopters, including the AH-64 Apache and the CH-47 Chinook.
 

A footage is going viral on social media platforms showing the air traffic control room screen, which appears to show the radar view of an American Airlines plane colliding with a US military helicopter on Wednesday.

The 49-second clip shows how the Army Black Hawk helicopter with three people on board – call sign PAT25 – crashed into the American Eagle Flight 5342, a small plane carrying 60 passengers and four crew members.

#BREAKING: Shared to me anonymously shows the Playback from official Air Traffic Control radar

#Washington | #DC

Watch as exclusive playback, sent anonymously by @avgeekjake to Rawsalerst, reveals official Air Traffic Control radar footage displaying the Collision Alert. pic.twitter.com/JuFNYDkc3v

— Flight 5342 (@flight5342) January 30, 2025

They collided over Washington before crashing into the Potomac River. 

Authorities say they do not expect any survivors from the crash, which was caught on multiple cameras. Multi-agency operation is underway to recover 67 bodies from the river.

Webcam at the Kennedy Center caught an explosion mid-air across the Potomac. https://t.co/v75sxitpH6 pic.twitter.com/HInYdhBYs5

— Alejandro Alvarez (@aletweetsnews) January 30, 2025

The American Airlines plane, which was flying to the US capital from Wichita, Kansas, was carrying athletes and coaches from the elite figure skating world, including former Russian world pairs champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov.

The incident occurred at approximately 9:00 pm (ET) (0200 GMT) on Wednesday as the aircraft was making its final approach to Washington’s Reagan National Airport.

According to reports, the plane pilot has been identified as Sam Lilley, a 28-year-old with six years experience at American Airlines, and who was engaged to be married.

Air Traffic Controller Audio Captures Moments Before Washington Plane Crash

An Air traffic control audio also recorded the moments before and after the passenger jet crashed with the US Army helicopter.

Audio from LiveATC.net, a respected source for in-flight recording, captured the final communications between the three crew members of the chopper before it collided with the CRJ700 Bombardier jet.

“PAT25, do you have a CRJ in sight? PAT25, pass behind the CRJ,” an air traffic controller said at 8:47 pm (ET) on Wednesday.

Seconds later, another aircraft called in to air traffic control, saying, “Tower, did you see that?” – apparently referring to the crash. 

An air traffic controller then redirected planes heading to runway 33 at Reagan Washington National Airport to go around.

“Crash, crash, crash, this is an alert three,” one of the air traffic controllers can be heard saying in the audio from around the time of the crash.

Air Traffic Control gave the Army helo permission to pass *behind* the jet coming into DCA. It’s in the ATC recording here at 17:30 from @Aristos_Revengehttps://t.co/gIMRoz1nEt…

ATC (likely DCA tower) asks the Army helo if it “has CRJ in sight?” “Pass behind the CRJ” https://t.co/AMJMqv6Ser pic.twitter.com/n7g7UgqFoh

— NOVA Campaigns (@NoVA_Campaigns) January 30, 2025

“I don’t know if you caught earlier what happened, but there was a collision on the approach into 33. We’re going to be shutting down operations for the indefinite future,” another controller said.

“Both the helicopter and the plane crashed in the river,” a third air traffic controller can be heard saying.

“It was probably out in the middle of the river,” the controller said. 

“I just saw a fireball and then it was just gone. I haven’t seen anything since they hit the river. But it was a CRJ and a helicopter that hit,” the controller added.

(With agency inputs)