Flight Safety Information - January 31, 2025 No. 023 In This Issue : Crash: PSA CRJ7 at Washington on Jan 29th 2025, midair collision with helicopter on final : Staffing at Reagan Washington National Airport air control tower was 'not normal' on night of collision: FAA : Incident: Commut E145 at Amarillo on Jan 29th 2025, engine shut down in flight : The American Airlines crash is the nightmare scenario that pilots and aviation workers have long feared : Black boxes found from crashed jet : Records show pilots complained for 20 years about near misses at DC airport : Calendar of Events Crash: PSA CRJ7 at Washington on Jan 29th 2025, midair collision with helicopter on final A PSA Airlines Canadair CRJ-700 on behalf of American Airlines, registration N709PS performing flight AA-5342 from Wichita,KS to Washington National,DC (USA) with 60 passengers and 4 crew, had been on approach to National's runway 01 and was asked by tower whether they could land runway 33, which the crew affirmed, the aircraft was subsequently cleared to land on runway 33. The aircraft was on final approach to National's runway 33 descending through about 200 feet AGL about 0.6nm before the runway threshold when the aircraft collided with a military Sikorsky UH-60 helicopter call sign PAT25 with 3 occupants, both aircraft fell into the Potomac River at 20:46L (01:46Z 30.1.). "Tower, did you see that?" somebody radioed at 01:46:39Z. All subsequent approaches were instructed to go around, departures were halted. All occupants of both aircraft perished as result of the collision. The airport was closed for the time being. Tower told aircraft waiting for departures that there had been a collision on finals to runway 33, the airfield was closed and they should return to the apron and shut engines down. Tower diverted several helicopters in the area following the crash. A massive rescue operation commenced, with multiple helicopters over the crash site and boats were on scene for search and rescue. Emergency Services stated that due to the current temperatures people would have only about 15-30 minutes until hypothermia sets in and about 30-90 minutes survival time. Emergency Services reported they received an alert from the FAA tower about the crash at 20:48L (01:48Z 30.1.), a state and federal response was initiated involving about 300 personnel. On Jan 30th 2025 at about 00:30L (05:30Z) local police reported, that fatalities are confirmed, so far no survivors have been rescued. In a press conference in the morning (US time) of Jan 30th 2025 Officials reported 28 bodies have been recovered so far, and search and rescue operation has been officially turned into a recovery operation. Emergency services do not believe that there are survivors. Eyewitnesses reported there were suddenly sparks and the aircraft rolled beyond 90 degrees and belly up, possibly about 120 feet above water, and plunged into the water. They could not see a helicopter. The FAA reported: "A PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet collided in midair with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter while on approach to Runway 33 at Reagan Washington National Airport around 9 p.m. local time. PSA was operating as Flight 5342 for American Airlines. It departed from Wichita, Kansas. The FAA and NTSB will investigate. The NTSB will lead the investigation." The FAA subsequently added the airport will remain closed until Friday Jan 31st 2025 05:00L. The NTSB reported: "NTSB has launched a go-team to the aviation accident involving a PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 airplane and a Sikorsky H-60 military helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport." The US Army reported a Blackhawk UH-60 departing Belvoir,VA (USA) for a training mission was involved in the midair collision. According to preliminary information there were 3 people on board of the helicopter. In a press conference in the afternoon (local Washington time) of Jan 30th 2025 the NTSB reported that the black boxes have not yet been recovered, they are still under water. Being the first day at the accident side, the NTSB indicated they are not going to present any data today as they are still in the process of fetching, verifying and analysing the data. The NTSB reported the helicopter was transitioning from helicopter route 1 to route 4. (end of the press conference) Related NOTAMs: !DCA 01/745 DCA RWY 15/33 CLSD 2501300150-2501312100 !DCA 01/746 DCA AD AP CLSD 2501300155-2501310400 Metars: KDCA 300352Z 30008KT 10SM CLR 08/M06 A2997 RMK AO2 SLP147 T00831061= KDCA 300252Z 30007KT 10SM CLR 09/M07 A2993 RMK AO2 SLP136 ACFT MSHP T00891067 51037= KDCA 300245Z 29007KT 10SM CLR 09/M07 A2993 RMK AO2 ACFT MSHP T00891067= KDCA 300152Z 30014G23KT 270V330 10SM CLR 10/M07 A2990 RMK AO2 PK WND 30033/0108 SLP126 T01001072= KDCA 300052Z 29015G25KT 10SM CLR 11/M07 A2987 RMK AO2 SLP114 T01061072= KDCA 292352Z 28010G18KT 10SM CLR 11/M07 A2982 RMK AO2 SLP098 T01111067 10178 20106 51046= KDCA 292252Z 31011G23KT 10SM FEW050 12/M07 A2978 RMK AO2 PK WND 32026/2228 SLP084 T01171067= KDCA 292152Z 31013G26KT 10SM FEW050 13/M06 A2973 RMK AO2 PK WND 29035/2103 SLP068 T01281061= https://avherald.com/h?article=52374362&opt=0 Staffing at Reagan Washington National Airport air control tower was 'not normal' on night of collision: FAA An internal preliminary report from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reportedly showed that the number of staff members working at the air control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia, was "not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic." On Wednesday night, an American Airlines plane and an Army helicopter collided near Reagan National Airport outside of Washington, D.C., and all 67 people onboard both aircraft are presumed to be dead. The Associated Press obtained a report which showed one air traffic controller was working two positions at the time of the crash. Typically, the two assignments are split between two air traffic controllers. Faa Panel Warns That Current Safety Levels Are ‘Unsunstainable’ "The position configuration was not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic," the report says. Despite the report saying the staffing was "not normal," a person familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital that staffing in the control tower at DCA on Wednesday night was at a normal level. The person explained that the positions get combined regularly if air controllers have to step away from the console for breaks, or if they are involved in a shift change. Controllers may also have to step away when air traffic is slow, the person explained, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal procedures. Supervisors have the ability to combine roles, which was the case on Wednesday night, though the person familiar with the matter could not say why. When asked about the air traffic and previous reports of it being heavy on Wednesday night, the source said it was moderate. The air control tower at Reagan National has been understaffed for years with 19 fully certified controllers as of September 2023. However, staffing targets set by the FAA and the controllers’ union call for 30. Faa Invests $121M For Airport Modifications To Reduce Risk Of Runway Incursions Emergency Crews Respond To Aircraft Crash Near Reagan National Airport Emergency response units assess airplane wreckage in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on Thursday. The FAA’s air traffic controller shortage is nothing new at Reagan National or most of the country’s air traffic control facilities. Last year, Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle appeared on FOX Business Network’s "The Claman Countdown" and warned that shortages could cause issues during the summer season if they were not addressed. Biffle explained that while technology could help address the issue while promoting greater efficiencies in air travel over the longer term, the air traffic controller shortage contributes to delays and cancelations. Faa Head Stresses Need For Aviation Industry To End Close Calls, Renews Safety Push collided with American Eagle Flight 5342, which was approaching Reagan Washington National Airport and crashed into the Potomac River, outside Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. "There's opportunities to improve the technology that is kind of the backbone of air traffic control," Biffle said. "If you look to Europe, for example, there are some opportunities that we could adopt here that would be much more efficient — you'd burn a lot less fuel, get there faster and so forth. That is a big opportunity." "At the same time, it doesn't negate the issue that I think we're 3,000 controllers short right now. And so that just causes, when you have a weather event, it just causes there to be more delays," he explained. "And ultimately, like we've seen the last few days, those delays then turn into cancelations because crews time out and so forth. [I] would really like to see the staffing get fixed. The technology is probably a longer solution." The FAA's National Airspace System (NAS) safety review team created in April 2023 following several close runway incursions during takeoffs or landings at busy airports, determined that year that the concurrence of several challenges such as the air traffic control staffing crunch, insufficient funding and outdated technology "results in an erosion of safety margins that must be urgently addressed." "The current erosion in the margin of safety in the NAS caused by the confluence of these challenges is rendering the current level of safety unsustainable," the team's report said. The cause of the shortage has been attributed to employee turnover and other factors like tight budgets, and ultimately, it has resulted in many controllers working 10-hour days and as many as six days a week, the New York Times reported. https://www.yahoo.com/news/staffing-reagan-washington-national-airport-220810285.html Incident: Commut E145 at Amarillo on Jan 29th 2025, engine shut down in flight A CommutAir Embraer ERJ-145 on behalf of United, registration N27190 performing flight UA-4816 from Amarillo,TX to Houston Intercontinental,TX (USA), was climbing out of Amarillo's runway 04 when the crew declared emergency reporting the left hand engine (Ae3007) had failed. The crew stopped the climb at 12000 feet and diverted to Lubbock,TX (USA) for a safe landing on runway 17R about 40 minutes after departure. The airline reported the aircraft experienced a maintenance issue shortly after departure and diverted to Lubbock due to better weather at Lubbock. A replacement Embraer ERJ-145 registration N17196 reached Houston with a delay of about 5 hour. https://avherald.com/h?article=5237919a&opt=0 The American Airlines crash is the nightmare scenario that pilots and aviation workers have long feared Aviation experts have warned about the risk of a passenger aircraft collision for years. They cite air traffic controller shortages and airspace congestion as safety risks. Wednesday's crash is the first complete-loss US airline accident since 2009. Pilots and aviation workers have sounded alarm bells for years about the risks of midair collisions. Those fears became a reality on Wednesday when an American Airlines flight collided with a helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport near Washington, DC, with 67 people presumed dead. Brian Alexander, a military helicopter pilot and a partner at the aviation accident law firm Kreindler & Kreindler, told Business Insider that a shortage of air traffic controllers and increasing airspace congestion have affected safety. "Our whole air traffic control system has been blinking red, screaming at us that we've got it overloaded," he said. "The intense inadequacy of the staffing and the overwork of the controllers is palpable." He said the US should invest in more airport technology to help controllers and pilots. Anthony Brickhouse, a professor at the College of Aviation at Embry-Riddle, also cited increased flight congestion as a significant safety risk at airports nationwide. He said he wasn't surprised a crash like this one happened. "We've had so many close calls with runway incursions and commercial flights almost colliding, and when something repeats over and over again, we call that a trend," he said. "We've been trending in this direction for two or three years now, and unfortunately, tonight, it happened." He said that air traffic control actions and aircraft communications will be a significant focus of the investigation. Washington National is among the busiest and most restricted airspaces in the US. A US pilot previously told BI that flying in the area is like "threading a needle." Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, the pilot who successfully landed a plane on the Hudson River in 2009 with no fatalities, told The New York Times on Wednesday that the DC airport has dated technology. "It hasn't changed much since then," he said, referring to the airport's construction in the 1930s. "Of course, we've added technology to it. But a lot of the technology is old." Despite the collision, experts say flying is still very safe, with thousands of planes taking off and landing safely every day. President Donald Trump said in a Thursday press conference that he would not hesitate to fly. "Flying is very safe," he added. "We have the safest flying anywhere in the world, and we'll keep it that way." The US has been battling near misses for years Wednesday's collision between a regional jet and a military Black Hawk helicopter comes after a string of near misses in recent years, including close calls in New York City and Austin in 2023. These near misses prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to create a safety review committee to examine their causes and recommend solutions. In November 2023, the committee recommended increased staffing, added funding to enable continued FAA safety oversight, and investing in airport technology. Several planes got too close for comfort at Washington National this past spring, followed by another near-miss in Nashville in September, all spurring investigations. Brickhouse said that given the past few years of close calls, not enough changes have been made to prevent planes from colliding. "If you continually have near misses and changes aren't made, eventually you will have a tragedy," he said. "For years, I've been saying to everyone who will listen that the next major accident will be something in the airport area involving a collision." In October, the FAA launched an audit into runway incursion risks at the US's busiest airports to identify "potential gaps in procedures, equipment, and processes" and recommend safety actions. The audit was expected to be completed in early 2025. The audit came shortly after the FAA said in September that it had exceeded its controller hiring goal for the 2024 fiscal year but was still short about 3,000 personnel. The concept of "blood priority" is likely to emerge in the aftermath of Wednesday's crash. In aviation safety, this means that needed changes will not be implemented until after a major accident and deaths occur — despite US safety officials pushing to be a more proactive industry than a reactive one. "We've had to learn important lessons literally with blood too often, and we had finally gotten beyond that, to where we could learn from incidents, and not accidents," Sullenberger told the Times. First complete-loss crash of a US airliner since 2009 Wednesday's tragedy is the first time a US airline has experienced a fatal, total loss of aircraft since 2009 when Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashed into a house in Buffalo, New York. The 49 people on board and one person on the ground died. A pilot's incorrect response to the plane's stall warning was eventually blamed for the crash, with fatigue cited as a contributing factor. "After a 15-year unprecedented run of zero United States air carrier crashes, that streak has ended with this tragic crash, and the safety clock begins again a new run," Kathleen Bangs, an aviation safety analyst and a former pilot, told BI. Another crash in 2013 on US soil resulted in fatalities when the South Korean carrier Asiana Airlines crashed while landing in San Francisco. The American crash marks the third fatal accident globally since December. An Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer plane crashed midflight on Christmas Day, likely the result of being inadvertently hit by a Russian air-defense system. Thirty-eight people died, including the two pilots, while 29 passengers survived. A few days later, a Boeing 737 operated by South Korean carrier Jeju Airlines crashed during landing, killing 179 people. The investigation into that crash is ongoing. https://www.yahoo.com/news/american-airlines-crash-nightmare-scenario-180610388.html Black boxes found from crashed jet The D.C. plane crash renews concerns about air accidents in high-traffic areas. The FDA approves a new type of nonopioid painkiller for acute pain. And NBC News speaks to transgender service members who could be affected by Trump’s executive order. Here’s what to know today. Two black boxes recovered from crashed jet, to be sent to NTSB for analysis Federal investigators are now searching for answers after all 67 passengers were killed when an American Airlines flight struck an Army helicopter over the Potomac River near Washington D.C. The cause of the collision is unclear. A preliminary report by the Federal Aviation Administration indicated that air traffic control staffing was “not normal” at the time of the crash. There were not two controllers in the air traffic control tower, leaving one person handling both planes and helicopters. Two ''black boxes,'' or flight data recorders, from the American Airlines plane were recovered from the crash site. Experts say the focus of the investigation will likely be on an automated system that should have warned pilots that another aircraft was close by, the pilots’ communications with air traffic controllers and any visual obstructions that could have prevented the pilots from seeing each other. The disaster is the first fatal commercial plane crash in the U.S. since 2009. Among the victims were figure skaters from the United States and Russia who attended the national figure skating championships in Wichita, Kansas, where the flight originated. A group of friends returning to the East Coast from a duck hunt in Kansas were also on the plane, as well as a Howard University law professor. Here’s what we know so far about the rest of the victims. Though officials stress that air travel has never been safer in America, the accident has raised concerns, particularly about areas with lots of air traffic like the nation’s capital. Reagan Airport presents unique challenges for pilots — limits on where commercial flights are allowed to fly and skies congested with military aircraft. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/black-boxes-found-crashed-jet-fda-approves-new-nonopioid-painkiller-mo-rcna190122 Records show pilots complained for 20 years about near misses at DC airport NBC 5 Investigates found at least 16 complaints in NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System dating back to 2006 where pilots referenced near misses with helicopters or other aircraft while approaching Reagan National. NBC 5 Investigates found at least 16 complaints in NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System dating back to 2006 where pilots referenced near misses with helicopters or other aircraft while approaching Reagan National. Bennett Haeberle reports. For at least two decades, pilots have complained about near misses with helicopters and other aircraft in the congested airspace above Reagan National Airport, according to an NBC 5 Investigates review of complaints lodged with NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System. The complaints are not necessarily investigated or corroborated by the federal aviation authorities but do underscore concerns raised by the pilots themselves about airspace congestion at one of the nation's busiest commercial runways in DCA. According to authorities, 67 people died Wednesday night when a Black Hawk helicopter collided with a regional American Airlines jet over the Potomac River as the jet made its final approach. The cause of the midair collision remains under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board. The collision marked the deadliest commercial airline crash in the U.S. in more than 20 years and has quickly renewed national conversations about aviation safety. NBC 5 Investigates found at least 16 complaints in NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System dating back to 2006 where pilots referenced near misses with helicopters or other aircraft while approaching Reagan National. The figures could be an undercount given that pilots submit their experiences to the NASA dataset voluntarily. Their identities were removed. In 2006, a pilot wrote that they had to make a "missed approached" after the air traffic control tower alerted them of a military helicopter over the river, adding, "Why does the tower allow such nonsense by the military in such a critical area?" In 2013, another pilot described another near miss with a helicopter, writing: "There are always numerous military and government helicopters running up and down that river at all times of day and night…" He later wrote that the helicopter "passed 200 feet below us…" and that the air traffic control tower never called out the traffic beyond the first notification. The same pilot wrote that when he pressed the controller in charge at the tower, he admitted that it was a military helicopter flying from/to Ft. Meade and that he was flying "a little higher than normal." The pilot went on to write: "I cannot imagine what business is so pressing that these helicopters are allowed to cross the path of airliners carrying hundreds of people! I do not understand why they are not crossed IN-BETWEEN arrivals." In 2015, a pilot filed a complaint about having to land on Runway 33, the very runway the American Airlines flight was attempting to land on before Wednesday's midair collision. Tearful Nancy Kerrigan on loss of Boston club's figure skaters in DC plane crash In this complaint, the pilot wrote he "came within very close contact of another aircraft," adding "there was an extreme lack of communication between DCA tower to our flight or DCA tower to the associated helicopter…" And just last April, another pilot wrote he did not see a helicopter that was "300 feet below us," adding, "we never received a warning of the traffic from air traffic control so we were unaware it was there." A source told NBC News that staffing in the DCA tower on Wednesday was not normal for the amount of traffic and time of day, according to a preliminary FAA safety report on the collision. The same source says that the DC tower usually has a controller who focuses on helicopter traffic. But FAA's guidelines allow for that position to be combined with another controller – which is reportedly what happened at the time of the crash. "Their flight path should've been hugging the east bank of the Potomac River, so their flight should not have been in the path of that landing aircraft," said U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois. Duckworth, a former military pilot who has flown Black Hawk helicopters before, told reporters that she was briefed by the both the FAA and NTSB early Thursday. She said the helicopter was made aware of the regional commercial jet and was told to go behind it. It was not immediately clear what led to the midair collision. The Illinois U.S. Senator, who sits on the aviation subcommittee, told NBC 5 Investigates she has concerns about the previous complaints we referenced, adding it's something lawmakers will look into. "We will be looking at that. Near misses is a misnomer. We should be calling them near collisions. And this is happening across the country," she said, adding that lawmakers will also be discussing additional training time for military pilots as well as federal funding to add additional air traffic controllers. https://www.nbcchicago.com/investigations/records-show-pilots-complained-for-20-years-about-near-misses-at-dc-airport/3661183/ CALENDAR OF EVENTS • · Sponsor the 2025 Fuzion Safety Conference! March 4 & 5, 2025 (Orlando) • · "Automation in Transportation: Lessons for Safe Implementation," on March 11-12, 2025, in Washington, DC. • · Annual Women in Aviation International Conference, Gaylord Rockies Resort & Conference Center | Denver Colorado, March 27-29, 2025 • · 59th Annual SMU Air Law Symposium is scheduled March 31 - April 2, 2025 • · Air Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF) Safety Symposium April 7-9, 2025 • · AIA Conference: The Aviation Insurance Association's annual conference in Orlando, Florida from April 25–28, 2025 • · Sixth Edition of International Accident Investigation Forum, 21 to 23 May 2025, Singapore • · The 9th Shanghai International Aerospace Technology and Equipment Exposition 2025; June 11 to 13, 2025 • CHC Safety & Quality Summit, 11th – 13th November 2025, Vancouver, BC Canada Curt Lewis