On the 30th of January 2025, a US Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines jet near the Ronald Reagan National Airport just outside Washington, D.C.
On impact, all 67 individuals involved tragically lost their lives, including all 64 on board the domestic American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas, to Washington, D.C.
The three soldiers on the Black Hawk helicopter have now been named as Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28, of Lilburn, Georgia; Chief Warrant Officer II; Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39, of Great Mills, Maryland; and Captain Rebecca Lobach, 28, of Durham, North Carolina.
The incident was the deadliest in U.S. aviation history since November 2001 – when an American Airlines flight crashed into a residential area in New York shortly after take-off, resulting in the death of 260 people.
Since the incident, all 67 bodies have been recovered from the Potomac River, and 66 have been positively identified. From the 2nd of February, rescue crews began to lift large segments of the American Airlines CRJ-700 passenger jet out of the river.
“President Trump blamed the Federal Aviation Administration’s Diversity, Equality and Inclusion policies as partially responsible for the incident”
Officials said they expected the entire recovery operation to be completed by February 12th and that a preliminary report into the crash will be issued in the next 30 days. A full investigation has also been launched.
Details emerging this week cast a shadow of doubt on determining the true cause of the crash. While the black boxes have now been recovered from both aircraft, there are discrepancies in the crash altitude reported. A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member, Todd Inman, said at a news conference, “The CRJ (American Airlines jet), based on the data recorder at the time of impact, was 325 feet, plus or minus 25 feet [in the air].”
This would put the Black Hawk helicopter at odds with the 200ft limit imposed for helicopter traffic in the area by the Federal Aviation Administration.
However, conflicting data from the Ronald Reagan National Air Tower suggests that the helicopter might have been travelling at 200ft at the point of impact. It is hoped that data from the Black Hawk’s recovered black box will help to explain this discrepancy. Currently, the Black Hawk recording data is being extracted.
Former Black Hawk pilot Elizabeth McCormick told CNN that she believed there were three reasons for the crash on Wednesday night. As well as the crew of three being relatively insufficient, McCormick said that a cluttered airspace with reflecting lights could have disorientated the pilot and caused them to rise above the 200ft limit.
However, she later went on to say that the incident could have been avoided with more transparent communication from the tower at Ronald Reagan National.
Commenting on air traffic control audio recordings, McCormick said, “There were two aircraft in their [the Black Hawk’s] field of view, and only one was obvious. Air traffic control should have asked, “Do you have the CRJ at five o’clock?” If they had done that, the Black Hawk would have moved out of the way quickly. [The crash] wouldn’t have happened.”
“A preliminary report into the crash will be issued in the next 30 days. A full investigation has also been launched.”
In a White House press conference, President Trump blamed the Federal Aviation Administration’s Diversity, Equality and Inclusion policies as partially responsible for the incident, despite similar measures being in place during his first term in office. When pressed for further justification on why he believed DEI policies were to blame, Trump responded, “Because I have common sense”.
This move further signals President Trump’s desire to distance himself from the previous Biden administration. On the 22nd of January, Trump issued an executive order eliminating policies that, as he said, “prioritized diversity, equity, and inclusion over safety and efficiency” at the FAA.
Gary O’Hara – the father of Ryan O’Hara, one of the three soldiers who perished on the Black Hawk – has slammed Trump’s comments about DEI policies being responsible for the crash. He told CBS News, “You don’t get to do something in the Army unless you are qualified. You have to earn your spot.”
Loree Draude, one of the first women to fly combat jets in the U.S. Navy, also believes Trump’s comments were misplaced. In an exclusive interview, she stated that “Assigning blame in an aviation investigation while bodies are still being pulled from the site is not only harmful, but it also lacks compassion and leadership.”
She continued to say, “His comments insinuate that if you are the beneficiary of a DEI programme, i.e. you’re not a straight, white, able-bodied man, then you are inferior and only hired because of how you were born, not because of your skills.”
Later, she commented, “I am concerned that women and under-represented groups will not seek a future in the military at a time when we need motivated and qualified Americans to serve.”
Not long after the crash, a Learjet 55 air ambulance crashed near the Roosevelt Mall shortly upon take off from Northeast Philadelphia Airport. This resulted in the death of seven people, including all six on the medevac flight to Tijuana International Airport.
Among the deceased are 11-year-old Valentina Guzman, who had been receiving treatment at Shriners Children’s Hospital, and 37-year-old Steven Dreuitt, who was in a car below with his 9-year-old son at the time of the crash. This incident concluded a tragic week in U.S. aviation history.
