On Jan. 29, an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter collided as the plane prepared to land at Washington, D.C.’s Ronald Reagan National Airport. Both plunged into the Potomac River, killing all 67 people aboard.
The National Transportation Safety Board plans to give another update on the crash Tuesday afternoon.
Investigators previously said the helicopter may have had inaccurate altitude readings in the moments before the crash, and the crew may not have heard key instructions from air traffic controllers.
The collision was the deadliest plane crash in the U.S. since 2001, when a jet slammed into a New York City neighborhood just after takeoff, killing all 260 people on board and five more on the ground.
A string of crashes this year along with a near miss have brought attention to air travel, which remains overwhelmingly safe in the U.S. On Jan. 31, a medical transport jet crashed into a Philadelphia neighborhood, killing seven people. On Feb. 6, a small commuter aircraft crashed off western Alaska, killing 10. On Feb. 17, a Delta plane crashed and flipped over upon landing in Toronto. Two small planes collided in midair in Arizona on Feb. 19, killing two people. And there was a scary moment on Feb. 25 in Chicago when a Southwest Airlines plane aborted its landing to avoid crashing into another plane crossing the runway.
Here's a look at the Jan. 29 crash:
What happened?
American Airlines Flight 5342 was coming in from Wichita, Kansas, carrying 60 passengers and four crew members, as it approached to land on a clear night. Nearby, a U.S. Army Black Hawk with three soldiers on board was practicing emergency evacuation routes that would be used to ferry out key government officials in an attack or catastrophe.
Investigators believe the helicopter crew was wearing night-vision goggles that would have limited their peripheral vision.
A few minutes before the twin-engine jet was to land, air traffic controllers asked if it could use a shorter runway. The pilots agreed, and flight-tracking sites show the plane turned to adjust its approach.
Shortly before the collision, a controller got an alert that the plane and Black Hawk were converging and asked the helicopter if it had the plane in sight. The military pilot said yes and asked for “visual separation” with the jet for a second time — allowing it to fly closer than if the pilots couldn't see the plane. Controllers approved the request.
Roughly 20 seconds later, the aircraft collided.
The investigation
The NTSB has recovered all flight data recorders and pulled the wreckage of both aircraft from the Potomac.
It will take more than a year to get the final NTSB report, but officials have provided regular updates as investigators learn more. They plan to release their preliminary report on Tuesday.
NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy told reporters last month that the Black Hawk's cockpit recorder suggested an incomplete radio transmission may have left the crew unable to hear air traffic control tell them, just before the crash, to move behind the jet.
“That transmission was interrupted — it was stepped on,” she said at a Feb. 14 briefing, leaving the helicopter’s crew unable to hear the words “pass behind the” because their microphone key was pressed.
The radio altitude of the helicopter was 278 feet (85 meters) at the time of the collision, which would put the Black Hawk above its 200-foot (61-meter) limit for that location.
Cockpit conversations a few minutes before the crash indicated the crew may not have had accurate altitude readings, with the helicopter’s pilot calling out that they were then at 300 feet (91 meters), but the instructor pilot saying 400 feet (122 meters), Homendy said.
“We are looking at the possibility there may be bad data,” she said.
That generation of Black Hawks typically has two types of altimeters: one relying on barometric pressure and the other on radio frequency signals bounced off the ground. Helicopter pilots typically rely on barometric readings while flying, but the helicopter’s black box captures its radio altitude.
Almost immediately after the crash, President Donald Trump faulted the helicopter for flying too high. He also blamed federal diversity and inclusion efforts, particularly regarding air traffic controllers. When pressed by reporters, the president could not back up those claims. A few days later, Trump blamed an “obsolete” air traffic control system that he said should have been replaced years ago.
Army officials have said the Black Hawk crew was highly experienced and familiar with the crowded skies around Washington.
The victims
The Army identified the Black Hawk crew as 28-year-old Capt. Rebecca M. Lobach of Durham, North Carolina; Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28, of Lilburn, Georgia; and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39, of Great Mills, Maryland. O’Hara was the crew chief and Eaves and Lobach were pilots.
Among the jet’s passengers were several members of the Skating Club of Boston returning from a development camp for elite junior skaters that followed the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita. A figure skating tribute event in Washington raised $1.2 million for crash victims' families.
Others killed included a group of hunters returning from a guided trip in Kansas, four members of a steamfitters’ local union in suburban Maryland, nine students and parents from Fairfax County, Virginia, schools and two Chinese nationals.
