New details about the fatal helicopter-plane crash near DC’s Reagan Airport reveal the female pilot was repeatedly ignored warnings from her male co-pilot to turn away but she flew right into the passenger jet.
An American Airlines flight carrying approximately 64 souls collided with a Blackhawk helicopter near Washington D.C. Reagan National Airport (DCA) in late January.
All 64 passengers in the jet were killed.
The three pilots in the Blackhawk helicopter also died in the explosive crash.
A preliminary FAA report indicated that staffing at the DCA Air Traffic Control tower was “not normal” at the time of the helicopter-plane collision.
According to NBC News, at the time of the collision, one controller was overseeing both helicopter and airplane traffic.
Typically, one controller focuses on helicopter activity.
Webcam video from the Kennedy Center showed the Blackhawk helicopter flying right into the American Airlines plane.
Watch:
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 US Army released the name of the pilot of the US Army Blackhawk helicopter that flew into a passenger jet landing at Reagan National Airport three days after the