Video: Moment American Airlines jet collided with Black Hawk helicopter mid-air
The mid-air collision, among the deadliest US aviation disasters in more than two decades, took place while the American Airlines flight was approaching the airport.
A shocking new footage shows the final moments before the mid-air collision between a passenger aircraft and a military helicopter in Washington DC last year.
A nine-second footage released by CBS News's '60 Minutes' shows the American Airlines aircraft pulling up just before colliding with a Black Hawk helicopter over the Reagan National Airport in the US capital.
All 64 people onboard the passenger jet and three soldiers travelling in the helicopter perished in the air crash on January 29, 2025.
The mid-air collision, among the deadliest US aviation disasters in more than two decades, took place while the American Airlines flight was approaching the airport.
PROBE BLAMED FAA FOR FAILURES
In January this year, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that a series of systemic failures by the Federal Aviation Administration led to a devastating mid-air collision.
The NTSB determined the accident was caused by the FAA's decision to allow helicopters to travel close to the airport with no safeguards to separate them from airplanes and its failure to review data and act on recommendations to move helicopter traffic away from the airport.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said the airport's air traffic control tower personnel repeatedly sought to raise concerns, but without success. "This was 100% preventable. There's definitely a need for serious reform," Homendy said.
The board also cited failings in the Army safety culture and the Army pilot's failure to properly see and avoid the passenger aircraft.
(With inputs from Reuters)
A shocking new footage shows the final moments before the mid-air collision between a passenger aircraft and a military helicopter in Washington DC last year.
A nine-second footage released by CBS News's '60 Minutes' shows the American Airlines aircraft pulling up just before colliding with a Black Hawk helicopter over the Reagan National Airport in the US capital.
All 64 people onboard the passenger jet and three soldiers travelling in the helicopter perished in the air crash on January 29, 2025.
The mid-air collision, among the deadliest US aviation disasters in more than two decades, took place while the American Airlines flight was approaching the airport.
PROBE BLAMED FAA FOR FAILURES
In January this year, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that a series of systemic failures by the Federal Aviation Administration led to a devastating mid-air collision.
The NTSB determined the accident was caused by the FAA's decision to allow helicopters to travel close to the airport with no safeguards to separate them from airplanes and its failure to review data and act on recommendations to move helicopter traffic away from the airport.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said the airport's air traffic control tower personnel repeatedly sought to raise concerns, but without success. "This was 100% preventable. There's definitely a need for serious reform," Homendy said.
The board also cited failings in the Army safety culture and the Army pilot's failure to properly see and avoid the passenger aircraft.
(With inputs from Reuters)
