A deadly mid-air crash in Washington, D.C., Wednesday night occurred amid air traffic patterns unique to the area that should not be cause for broader concerns about plane safety, experts say.
The collision occurred in one of the most congested and complex air corridors on the continent. Numerous no-fly zones around landmarks such as the White House and the Pentagon make for narrower traffic lanes, all within a region home to three major airports, multiple regional airports and dozens of heliports.
“It’s probably the busiest runway in the U.S., and when you have that level of volume and you also have military flights that use airspace around D.C. it was an accident waiting to happen,” said John Gradek, who teaches aviation management at McGill University.
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport has seen rising activity over the years. It hosts more passengers than any other airport in the area, while military aircraft also frequently fly there, making it a higher-risk airspace, he said.
The collision between an American Airlines jet carrying 64 people and a Black Hawk army helicopter carrying three soldiers has killed everyone on board both aircraft, officials said, making it the worst U.S. aviation disaster in almost a quarter century.
Global Affairs said it was not aware of any Canadians on board the flight.
The Transportation Safety Board has deployed two team members to support U.S. investigators, since the aircraft was a Canadian-made Bombardier CRJ-700 regional jet.
There was no immediate word on the cause of the collision, but officials said the jet was making a routine landing when the helicopter flew into its path.
Audio from air traffic controllers confirms they told the helicopter about the plane so it would have been the responsibility of the helicopter pilot to avoid the jet, Gradek said.
“It is up to the military helicopters to really make sure they are very aware of what the traffic is around them, and they have to fly and avoid the incoming aircraft or outgoing aircraft.”
The pilots of the jet would have been focused on landing as they were at around 350 feet of elevation, flying 225 kilometres an hour when the collision happened, he said, making it even more important for the helicopter to steer clear.
“The Black Hawk, from what I understand, did acknowledge visual on the aircraft,” said Gradek. “Whether they visually recognized the right airplane or not is something that investigators will be looking at.”
He said that while there are concerns about air traffic controller shortages in Canada, flight volumes are managed so they’re never overstretched. At peak travel times like the summer there could be limits placed on flight numbers due to a dearth of controllers, he said.
There are also no airports in Canada that have anywhere near the volume of military flights that the D.C. area sees, reinforcing the unique circumstances of the crash, he said.
“It’s an aberration as far as I’m concerned. It’s not something that we should panic over at this point in time.”
However, the crash follows several near misses at Reagan National Airport and other U.S. hubs over the past two years, which prompted some officials and industry players to sound the alarm.
Last year, U.S. Congress mandated more daily flights at the hub — popular among the capital’s political class due to its proximity to downtown — despite opposition from the airport and some legislators to more traffic.
In 2023, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration convened industry leaders to address what it saw as a national system under strain. The agency announced plans to ratchet up hiring of air traffic controllers, deal with complaints of fatigue and install new technology to alert personnel when planes were on a possible collision course.
Wednesday’s crash could spark renewed calls for safety and tighter rules.
“This could have far-reaching implications,” said Duncan Dee, former chief operating officer at Air Canada.
“Does this mean they’re going to have to reduce the number of aircraft in that very tight airspace?”
Rules around the distance between planes might also come under scrutiny, he said.
“Technology and practices and regulations have allowed these already busy airports to become busier. But at what point does it become too many?”
Dee said that the U.S. is often viewed as the gold standard for aviation safety.
“My first reaction was just disbelief.”
While rare, collisions between helicopters and aircraft are not unheard of in Canada.
On a blue-sky day last July, a four-seat Cessna plane and a Bell helicopter struck each other in mid-air northwest of Edmonton in broad daylight.
The Transportation Safety Board launched an investigation into the incident, which resulted in no injuries. Both the helicopter, carrying a single pilot, and the Cessna, which had a student and flight instructor on board, managed to land safely.
In December 2023, Canada received a C grade on flight safety oversight — down from an A+ almost two decades earlier and far below most of its peers — according to a draft report from a United Nations agency.
A shortage of air traffic controllers and a trend toward off-loading safety responsibilities from government to industry remain concerns across the continent, said Ross Aimer, CEO of California-based Aero Consulting Experts.
— With files from Jordan Omstead in Toronto and The Associated Press.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 30, 2025.
