10 critical questions about D.C. midair crash

Tragically, it was a day of “nines.” It occurred on 9 February 2001; it happened 9 miles south of Oahu, Hawaii; and the accident claimed nine lives.

Who would have thought it could ever happen? Due to the total unlikelihood of such an occurrence, one wonders how long it took for those onboard the Japanese fishing boat and research vessel – the 191-foot Ehime Maru – to even realize what was happening before it quickly sank.

It is a big ocean, yet on that day, the nuclear attack submarine USS Greenville (SSN-772), in an emergency surfacing maneuver, unwarily surfaced right underneath the Japanese ship. The sub’s rudder sliced into the hull of the Ehime Maru, causing it to sink in a matter of minutes.

While 25 survivors were rescued, nine aboard the fishing vessel, including four high school students, died. But imagine the horror the survivors experienced being lifted up out of the sea as clear skies on a bright sunny day betrayed signs of any immediate danger.

As it turned out, there had been no real emergency on the submarine. It was simply conducting an emergency ascent from the depths below to demonstrate to civilian visitors onboard how quickly it could be done.

However, the accident put the lie to the concept that little ships operate in big oceans. In the Ehime Maru’s case, it turned out to be a very small ocean indeed.

Due to this collision, however, the Navy made significant changes to submarine surfacing maneuvers. The absence of any repeat incidents almost a quarter of a century later demonstrates success in “enlarging” the ocean for surface vessels by implementing new measures for their safety.

Similarly, when it comes to aviation, the “Big Sky Theory” suggests that “collisions between aircraft are unlikely due to the vastness of airspace.” Of course, that big sky is severely reduced as aircraft converge in proximity to the same airport. This was the scenario on the evening of Jan. 29, 2025 at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).

An American Airlines passenger jet on approach to the airport and a U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter on a night training mission heading for Ft. Belvoir in Virginia, collided in midair at 8:47 p.m.

There were no survivors as 67 people lost their lives (64 on the jet and three on the helicopter) as the two aircraft exploded and fell into the Potomac River.

Much more operating room existed for the two ships involved in the accident off of Oahu as the flight path of these two aircraft was restricted due to heavy traffic.

It will undoubtedly take months for an investigation into the cause of the air disaster to be completed. Clearly, however, among the cast of characters involved both in the air and on the ground, someone dropped the ball.

Some factors possibly contributing to the disaster include the answers to the following:

• Did an understaffed control tower – while still in compliance with federal regulations – create an overburdened air traffic controller (ATC)?

• Was the helicopter crew undermanned? (An expert suggests there should have been two crew chiefs rather than one, thus enabling a pair of eyes to simultaneously scan both sides of the aircraft for any approaching planes.)

• Was the helicopter observing its maximum altitude restriction of 200 feet? The evidence is somewhat confusing on this as the tower detected it at a lower altitude than it actually was in order for the collision to have occurred. But it does appear the helicopter was definitely off-course from one of the standard routes helicopters were to fly when near DCA. One report indicates the helicopter was for some reason transitioning between two of these routes.

• As the helicopter was conducting an “annual evaluation” flight in which a senior instructor pilot evaluates a junior pilot and if the altitude restriction was exceeded, how could the former not have observed it unless, perhaps, there was an altimeter malfunction?

• Pilots on both aircraft were in direct contact with the ATC, but were they able to communicate with each other since they normally operate on different frequencies?

• Mysteriously, the responses from the helicopter to the ATC were sent via text, rather than audio. Why was this, especially when the situation warranted instantaneous communication via audio?

• A video of the collision gives the appearance that the helicopter targeted the jet, raising the question of who was flying it at the time – the senior or junior pilot – and was there anything in either pilot’s personal history to suggest this may have been a suicide mission? Interestingly, the senior pilot’s social media account was quickly scrubbed after the accident.

• Did a last-minute landing change for the jet by the ATC, resulting in an adjustment of its flight path to a shorter runway, cause any confusion?

• Did swirling crosswinds have an impact?

• Based on the communication exchange between the helicopter pilot and the ATC indicating the former had the jet in sight, was a misidentification made?

At a post-crash press conference, President Donald Trump implied that his predecessor’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policy could have been a factor but did not articulate exactly how. The investigation will undoubtedly focus on the training and experience of all involved and their superiors as well. If the senior helicopter pilot was inexperienced, the DCA flight corridor should never have been used for an annual evaluation.

Despite a nighttime sky, visibility was clear. ATC audio reveals less than 30 seconds before the crash, the helicopter was specifically asked if it could see the jet. The helicopter crew responded, “… aircraft in sight, request ‘visual separation.'”

This term refers to an ATC method used to ensure aircraft are kept apart in such confined flight areas. While instructed to pass behind the jet, less than 13 seconds later the collision occurred.

While the loss of 67 souls is a great tragedy, an ultimate result of the investigation into this air disaster will lead – as it did to “enlarging” the oceans for safe travel by surface traffic due to the 2001 sinking – to a similar enlargement of the skies for safer air travel.