A devastating collision between a military helicopter and an American Airlines passenger jet has led to sweeping changes in Washington DC's airport operations.
According to Daily Mail, the Federal Aviation Administration announced plans to decrease the maximum number of arrivals at Reagan National Airport from 28 to 26 per hour following the tragic crash that claimed 67 lives last week.
The decision came after investigators expressed concerns about tower personnel who have been dealing with increased stress levels while witnessing accident recovery efforts.
This safety measure is expected to extend average flight delays from 40 to 50 minutes at the notoriously crowded airport.
Aviation experts have long warned about the risks associated with Reagan National Airport's complex airspace. Data from the FAA revealed over 30 reports of near-midair collisions dating back to 1987, with at least 10 involving military aircraft.
Retired US Army National Guard pilot Darrell Feller shared a chilling account of his own close call from a decade ago. He described having to descend to just 50 feet above the Potomac River to avoid a potential collision with a passenger jet landing on the same runway involved in last week's crash.
Ross Aimer, a retired United Airlines captain and CEO of Aero Consulting Experts, expressed his frustration with the system, stating:
This was a disaster waiting to happen. Those of us who have been around a long time have been yelling into a vacuum that something like this would happen because our systems are stretched to extremes.
The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed that the Black Hawk helicopter was flying 100 feet above its permitted maximum altitude when it collided with American Airlines flight 5342. The military aircraft, piloted by 28-year-old Captain Rebecca M. Lobach, was at 300 feet despite a 200-foot limit for helicopters in that area.
NTSB investigator Todd Inman revealed that the passenger plane's crew attempted evasive action moments before impact. The flight data recorder showed an increase in the aircraft's pitch angle, but the collision occurred approximately one second later.
Brice Banning, NTSB investigator in charge, described the complexity of the investigation while discussing the recovered black boxes. He noted that both the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder captured the crew's verbal reaction and the sounds of impact in the final moments.
The tragic incident prompted swift action from President Donald Trump, who appointed Chris Rocheleau as acting head of the FAA the morning after the disaster. On January 30, Trump signed a memorandum ordering an immediate assessment of aviation safety.
The crash resulted in the deaths of all 67 people involved, including 60 passengers and four crew members on the American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas, and three soldiers aboard the military helicopter. Recovery teams have successfully retrieved all bodies from the Potomac River.
The incident has intensified scrutiny of the longstanding practice of allowing military aircraft to operate in close proximity to commercial flights at Reagan National Airport. The FAA's decision to reduce arrival capacity represents the first significant operational change implemented since the tragedy.
