US admits fault in Reagan Airport midair collision between plane, helicopter in January

US authorities have acknowledged responsibility for the midair collision between an American Airlines passenger plane and a Black Hawk helicopter near Washington’s Ronald Reagan Airport on January 29, 2025.

In its filing with the US District Court for the District of Columbia, the government said the three-person crew of the Army Black Hawk helicopter, whose members were among the 67 who perished in the crash, failed to see and avoid the American Airlines regional jet, The Washington Post (WP) reports.

The filing also stated that air traffic controllers at Reagan National Airport failed to alert the jet of the approaching helicopter, a lapse a Federal Aviation Administration official acknowledged earlier this year.

Robert Clifford, attorney for one of the victims’ families, said the US acknowledgement accepts the Army’s responsibility for the loss of life, as well as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) failure to follow air traffic control procedures.

On January 29, a US Army Sikorsky UH‑60 Black Hawk helicopter on a training flight collided midair with American Airlines Flight 5342, a Bombardier CRJ‑700 regional jet approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, killing all 67 people aboard both aircraft when they plunged into the Potomac River near Washington, DC. 

Recovery teams, including Coast Guard and Navy units, worked over several days to retrieve wreckage and remains from the river while the National Transportation Safety Board and FAA examined altitude data, air traffic control communication, and possible helicopter altimeter issues as part of the ongoing investigation. 

Most of the passengers were figure skaters travelling from Wichita to compete in the US Figure Skating Championships, along with their coaches and family members. Among the deceased were several former Russian skaters, including pairs world champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, as well as Soviet skater Inna Volyanskaya, all working as coaches in the US.

By Jeyhun Aghazada