Disaster American Airlines Flight Collides With Blackhawk Helicopter Over DC - Several videos shared online showed footage of the collision and the aftermath of the crash.

An American Airlines passenger plane crashed into the Potomac River after colliding midair with a black hawk helicopter over Ronald Reagan International Airport in Washington, D.C., the Federal Aviation Administration announced Wednesday (January 29) via CNN.

Several videos shared online showed footage of the collision and the aftermath of the crash.

BREAKING: American Airlines Flight 5342 has collided with a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The military aircraft, identified as PAT25, is believed to be a Priority Air Transport mission, typically designated for VIP transport operations.

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[autistic dog]

This time woke went to far!

 

[Sho'nuff]

Also, Call to Activism isn't entirely retarded in their take. Trump DID fire key people in aviation control and safety.

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2025-01-22/trump-fires-heads-of-tsa-coast-guard-guts-aviation-safety-advisory-committee

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Unless he fired the ATC while he was directing the landing, it has nothing to do with Trump you donut.

 

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Unless he fired the ATC while he was directing the landing, it has nothing to do with Trump you donut.

My point, is that like anything politically charged, there's just enough truth to it to make it not a flat out lie on the surface. Of course those removals didn't lead to these events. But one can still stand up on social media and screech about him removing them.

 

[Sho'nuff]

My point, is that like anything politically charged, there's just enough truth to it to make it not a flat out lie on the surface. Of course that didn't lead to these events.

Linking the 2 events is intellectually dishonest. Lying is also intellectual dishonesty. So while it isn't an outright lie, it's tantamount to one.

 

[Lian Xing]

They were doing the ILS 1 circle 33, so there is no approach path.

From the flight path, it sure looks like they had the RNAV (GPS) RWY 33 in the box. From the most current plate, you break off the 1 approach and there are two other GPS fixes. You correctly point out does not give lateral (or vertical) guidance all the way to the approach end and requires visual contact with 33 at the end of the RNAV. It looks like they collided right at the last waypoint.

 

[Ainchiemi]

My point, is that like anything politically charged, there's just enough truth to it to make it not a flat out lie on the surface. Of course those removals didn't lead to these events. But one can still stand up on social media and screech about him removing them.

Well,..just like you're doing with trump saying 100% the quality of the air traffic directing downgraded immediately when he fired them and led to the crash.

 

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Well,..just like you're doing with trump saying 100% the quality of the air traffic directing downgraded immediately when he fired them and led to the crash.

I did? Huh. Don't remember saying that. Or is this one of those times where anyone who points out something objectively is also guilty?

 

[Diana Moon Glampers]

Looks like China got really serious about total Winter Olympic Games victory for 2026.

 

[SirCliveSinclairdabbing]

Is it just me or is "training exercise" a very obvious and lame excuse that's used all the time when something millitary was caught doing something wrong or suspicious?

I thought training accident was slang for we want to put another star on the wall but can't admit where they really were.

 

[Breadbassket]

Hope more details about the helicopter crew come out.

 

[Get the rope Macaulay!]

I was friends with one of the flight attendants who was working this flight, his name hilariously and now sadly was Ian Epstein and he was very warm friendly person. His terrible wife

What a great tell that this entire story was bullshit. /sneed

 

[Thabo Mbeki]

Evasiveness is always the big question, like how a man managed to bring up two dozen firearms and thousands of rounds through one of the most heavily-monitored streets (cameras everywhere) in the country, into a hotel, and up an elevator

Getting off topic but we literally have video of this:

 

[byron]

Chopper requested visual separation themselves. It's 100% on them.

I agree with this take, but I'll just add, if you look at the radar plot:



AAL3130 at the bottom of the screen is coming in to land on runway 11. They have their gear down and landing lights on. Those very bright landing lights are pointed almost directly at the helo, PAT25.

So, when PAT25 is told by the controller to look for the CRJ, he looks out the window and he sees a light - he can't gauge the distance to it, but its brightness is consistent with what he expects to see from the traffic he's been told to avoid. So he thinks he's in the clear, and he keeps an eye on the light.

Meanwhile, the CRJ at his 11:00 is above him and turning left ...and descending. The helo pilot probably never looked in that direction. Was probably looking at instruments, then at what he thought was the CRJ, then back to instruments.

This is all probably complicated by the fact that it's a training flight so you have one pilot and one instructor and they're probably distracted by some training task.

 

[Sock Cucker]

Is it just me or is "training exercise" a very obvious and lame excuse that's used all the time when something millitary was caught doing something wrong or suspicious?

It's not just you.
I'm very suspicious that the DoD hasn't issued a statement.

 

[EepEep]

Horrible tragedy and one of my worst nightmares. Plane crashes are always a worst case scenario and I feel horrible for the families.

I realize this is a genealization and I don't know how the Army does it, and mind you I've never been a part of the actual aviation field, but it's also where I've seen the most female pilots or most inept pilots (or both!). Nothing quite like the pilot trying to blame the ship crew for their disobeying the LSE and getting to continue to fly with no recourse after fucking up their helo.

Unfortunately it wouldn't surprise me if the helo pilot was just someone who should have never been there. Seems like a horrible accident combined with inexperience, and over 60 people paid for it with their lives.

 

[TowinKarz]

Because they had been fucking up.

The FAA came right out and said they wanted greater "neurodiversity" in things like ATC......

I.E. - They wanted people who see things that aren't there to be in charge of landing the planes!

 

[Al from Dadeville]

The FAA came right out and said they wanted greater "neurodiversity" in things like ATC......

I.E. - They wanted people who see things that aren't there to be in charge of landing the planes!

Maybe they meant they’re 100% staffed by dudes with Asperger’s

 

[Vesperus]

So, when PAT25 is told by the controller to look for the CRJ, he looks out the window and he sees a light - he can't gauge the distance to it, but its brightness is consistent with what he expects to see from the traffic he's been told to avoid. So he thinks he's in the clear, and he keeps an eye on the light.

Possibly not helped by ATC just asking if they see "the CRJ". If they'd said "traffic 2 miles south" (or however close they were) they might have looked a bit harder...

Edit: Found the culprit. Case closed.

 

[F40PH]

Vax status?

 

[the printer is outo fink]

The one somewhat comforting thing I'm taking from this is listening to the ATC audio. The pilot who was coming in behind the the AA flight was very impressive. He takes the order to fly back up, does it, states that he had full visual of the crash and asks if they need him to give a statement. He sounded very cool and in control in what would have been both a horrifying and terrifying situation. He's just seen an awful crash that is at best a tragic loss of life that in slightly different circumstances could have been his plane or at at worst, for all he knows in that moment is some sort of attack with the threat of another crash being imminent. Even if he knows the latter isn't likely, the possibility would have to run through your mind. And he managed it really well.