Day Before DC Crash, There Was a Near Miss at Reagan National Airport with Eerily Similar Details

In the wake of a collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and a U.S. Army helicopter that claimed 67 lives near Reagan National Airport, investigators are looking closely at another near miss at the same airport.

American Eagle Flight 5342, a Bombardier CRJ-700, was on final approach to the airport after a flight from Wichita, Kansas, when it collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on a training mission.

The death toll made it the deadliest aviation disaster in the United States in 20 years.

Among the focuses of the investigation is whether air traffic controllers had appropriately directed the craft to maintain separation from one another. Reuters reported that one controller was handing passenger airliners and helicopters at Reagan National on Wednesday night, when the crash occurred.

The situation was described as “not normal” but adequate for the lower traffic volume at night by an official.

However, this was representative of an ongoing concern, the wire service noted: “A shortage of air traffic controllers in the United States in recent years has spurred safety concerns. At several facilities, controllers work mandatory overtime and six-day work weeks to cover shortages. The Federal Aviation Administration has about 3,000 fewer controllers than it says it needs,” Reuters reported.

What’s more, The Washington Post reported Thursday night that a similar incident the day before the crash came close to ending in disaster.

According to their report, ” a different regional jet coming in for a landing at the airport alerted the air traffic control tower that it had to make a second approach. The cockpit crew quickly reported the reason to the tower: A helicopter had appeared near the flight path.”

That plane, Republic Airways Flight 4514, eventually landed safely.

According to CNN, live air traffic audio taken from the internet indicated that the issues began after the plane began descending through 1,600 feet on its approach to runway 19.

“There’s a helicopter over Georgetown northbound 300 feet,” the controller told the incoming pilot.

The Embraer ERJ 175 then took a right turn and began climbing, informing the tower that it had what’s known as a “resolution advisory” from its Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System, or TCAS.

“We had an RA, Brickyard 4514 is going around,” the pilot said. (“Brickyard” is the call sign for Republic Airways, which is used in radio communications as opposed to the full airline name.)

“We had an RA with the helicopter traffic below us,” the pilot added.

It remains unclear what role air traffic control played in the Wednesday disaster or whether the American Airlines aircraft received a TCAS warning before the accident — but, combined with the recordings of ATC communications with the aircraft involved in the collision, the Republic Airways aborted approach will likely draw greater scrutiny.

Just before the Wednesday incident, the controller could be heard on the main frequency saying, “PAT 25, pass behind the CRJ.”

The instructions meant that the Black Hawk helicopter — “PAT 25” — was meant to fly behind the American Airline jet’s path as it landed on the shorter of Reagan National’s three runways.

Seconds after that command, the two craft collided and fell into the Potomac River.

LISTEN: Air traffic control audio emerges from the moments before and after a Black Hawk military helicopter crashed into a packed American Airlines flight. pic.twitter.com/qGFNBzesF2

— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 30, 2025

“Yep, we saw it. Everybody just hold your positions please on the field right now,” the controller said. He then began diverting the traffic to other airports in the area, including Dulles International Airport and Baltimore-Washington International Airport.

According to the Post, 28 bodies had been pulled from the Potomac as of Thursday morning. None of the occupants of either craft are believed to have survived, however.

Flight data and cockpit voice recorders from the American jet have been recovered, which may shed light on whether there was a TCAS warning before the crash and what evasive actions the crew might have taken.

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