‘Risk of a Collision and Loss of Life’: D.C. Crash Warnings Were Years in the Making ‘Risk of a Collision and Loss of Life’: D.C. Crash Warnings Were Years in the Making

Concerns that a deadly collision could occur at Reagan National Airport had long been building. But attempts to draw attention to potentially dangerous conditions sometimes went unheeded.

On a bright, clear morning in July 2018, three military helicopters traveling south along the Potomac River came seconds away from smashing into a plane that was arriving at Ronald Reagan National Airport. The air traffic controller had failed to warn the aircraft of the potential collision, and the helicopters had to maneuver abruptly to avoid a crash.

The Federal Aviation Administration documented the incident in safety reports and used it as a case study in a nationwide training course for air traffic controllers on how to issue precise warnings to pilots when they are in danger.

But problems with air traffic around Reagan National persisted. Controllers, pilots and military officials were so worried about busy helicopter routes near the airport that they formed safety groups in attempts to prevent a crash, four people familiar with the discussions said.

And after a series of incidents, an internal report in 2019 explicitly warned that recurring controller error increased “the risk of a collision and loss of life,” according to a copy reviewed by The New York Times.

Despite these efforts, an Army Black Hawk helicopter slammed into American Airlines Flight 5342 two weeks ago at almost exactly the same location as the 2018 incident, killing all 67 people aboard both aircraft.

The crash was the culmination of mounting warning signs at Reagan National, according to interviews with more than a dozen current and former air traffic controllers, pilots and aviation safety experts, as well as federal safety reports and F.A.A. records reviewed by The Times.