Washington Midair Collision Investigation
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators William Bramble, from left, Captain Van McKenny and Caleb Wagner speak during the hearing on the midair aircraft collision that killed 67 people near Washington Reagan National Airport, in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026.
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A daylong hearing is underway that should make clear what caused a midair aircraft collision that killed 67 people near Washington, D.C. The National Transportation Safety Board will recommend steps to prevent similar tragedies. An American Airlines jet flying from Kansas and an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided and plummeted into the Potomac River a year ago. The Federal Aviation Administration has taken steps to ensure helicopters and planes no longer share the same crowded airspace around the nation’s capital. A NTSB investigator says air traffic control had a big workload around the time of the crash.
