Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport air traffic controllers warned for years about safety risks, long before the Jan. 29, 2025, midair disaster over the Potomac River, when 67 were killed after a military training helicopter collided with a commercial passenger jet.
"The warning signs were all there," Emily Hanoka, a former Reagan National controller, told Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed into the side of an American Eagle regional jet approaching Reagan National just before landing, killing all 67 people aboard both aircraft. Federal investigators later issued urgent safety recommendations focused on separating helicopter and fixed-wing traffic near the airport.
Since the disaster, regulators have moved to tighten procedures.
There were multiple near-misses just a day before the disaster, suspended the use of visual separation between helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft in that airspace and shifted controllers toward radar-based separation, while restrictions were also imposed on certain helicopter operations near Reagan National.
The safety concerns Hanoka described align with broader findings from investigators. The National Transportation Safety Board blamed systemic FAA failures and found the crash was preventable, with concerns including overreliance on visual separation and longstanding risks in the airspace around Reagan National.