America’s commercial aviation industry has enjoyed a remarkable safety record over the past two decades, moving nearly 3 million passengers around the country each day virtually without incident. That’s what makes the midair collision between an American Eagle commuter jet and an Army helicopter in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday evening even more tragic and perplexing.
The accident occurred over the Potomac River as the passenger jet, arriving from Wichita, Kansas, was approaching the runway at Ronald Reagan National Airport. Chilling video appeared to show the helicopter, a Black Hawk on a training flight, strike the plane near the middle or rear of the fuselage. An explosion ensued, and both aircraft plunged into shallow water. All 64 people on the jet were killed, as were the three soldiers on the helicopter.
It is the first major crash involving a U.S. commercial airliner since 2009 and the largest loss of life in a U.S. aviation accident since 2001.
News accounts on Thursday revealed that the jet’s pilots were asked to switch runways shortly before the crash. But aviation experts said that wasn’t unusual, and there was no indication that the commuter plane was out of position. “Radio traffic recordings,” NBC news reported, “indicate that one of the last communications that took place was a controller asking the helicopter pilot if they saw the plane, and directing the chopper to pass behind it.” But it was too late.
The disaster occurred in the most regulated airspace in the world, given the airport’s proximity to the nation’s Capitol. But it’s also a crowded air corridor in which civilian and military aircraft regularly co-mingle. “Everything, unfortunately, lined up for this accident to happen,” Kenneth Byrnes, a pilot and chairman of the flight training department at Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University, told NBC.
The investigation will probably focus on the position of the Army helicopter and any communications or instructions from air traffic controllers. The probe will involve the FAA, the Army and the National Transportation Board, the latter of which will eventually provide an official cause of the crash.
“What happened yesterday should not have happened,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said. “When Americans take off in airplanes, they should expect to land at their destination. That didn’t happen yesterday. That’s not acceptable.” Indeed, Americans grieve for the families and loved ones of those whose lives were cut short by this devastating accident.
The U.S. aviation industry’s stellar safety record in recent decades was sown by improvements in communications and other practices that resulted from reforms implemented following earlier air disasters. We can only hope that the findings in this crash lead to preventive action that makes a repeat of this week’s horrific accident far less likely.
