American Airlines CEO blames military helicopter for DC plane crash as near misses & flight path tracker add to mystery
American Airlines CEO blames military helicopter for DC plane crash as near misses & flight path tracker add to mystery
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THE CEO of American Airlines has blamed a military helicopter for the devastating midair collision that killed 64 people in Washington DC. Officials have no clear answer as to why an American Airlines passenger jet and a Black Hawk military helicopter crashed in a fatal incident on Wednesday night.
![[Screenshot of a map showing airplane icons near Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling.]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/sc-Screenshot-Capture-2025-01-30-10-50-13.jpg?strip=all&w=526)
All people onboard the American Airlines plane, 60 passengers and four crew members, are believed to be dead. At least 30 bodies have been recovered from the horrific scene in the Potomac River. “At this time, we don’t know why the military aircraft came into the path of the PSA aircraft,” American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said on Thursday morning.
![[Debris of a plane in the water with rescue boats.]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/image_b6c797.jpeg?strip=all&w=960)
Video of the helicopter's flight path on a tracker website sparked concern online as it was seen flying near three other aircraft right before the crash. Some even called the Black Hawk's movement "erratic" as it curved to fly along the river and appeared to nearly intersect multiple planes.
![[American Airlines CEO Robert Isom speaking at a press conference.]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/GETTY_DCA-Crash-Morning-Briefing_NEW_GYI2196104047jpg-JS967857935.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
However, pilots shot down claims those moments were near misses. Experts online said there would have been "significant" vertical separation between the helicopter and the other planes it passed before the crash. It comes as... The difference in altitude between the aircraft causing speculation isn't immediately clear in the flight tracker videos.
The area over the Ronald Reagan National Airport is a notoriously crowded airspace as the Federal Aviation Administration investigated at least three near-misses in recent years. In May 2024, an American Airlines jet preparing for takeoff almost collided with a King Air plane arriving nearby.
