US Government Admits FAA, Army Failures in Washington Air Crash That Killed 67 People

The government stated that the Army helicopter crew ‘negligently failed’ to exercise the required vigilance to ensure separation from the passenger jet.

Rescue and salvage crews pull up part of an Army Black Hawk helicopter that collided with an American Eagle jet, at a wreckage site in the Potomac River near Arlington, Va., on Feb. 6, 2025. Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo

The U.S. government on Dec. 17 admitted negligence by federal employees in the Jan. 29 midair collision between a passenger jet and an Army helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport that killed 67 people.

The crash occurred as an American Airlines jet was on approach to the airport and collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter, sending both aircraft into the Potomac River. Sixty-four passengers and crew aboard the plane, and three military members in the helicopter, were killed.