The National Transportation Safety Board determined that a midair collision between a US Army Sikorsky UH-60L and a PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 occurred approximately 0.5 miles southeast of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The accident resulted in the deaths of two pilots, two flight attendants, and 60 passengers aboard the airplane, along with all three crew members aboard the helicopter.
According to the NTSB, the probable cause of the accident was the Federal Aviation Administration’s placement of a helicopter route in close proximity to a runway approach path. The agency also cited a failure to regularly review helicopter routes and a failure to act on previous recommendations to mitigate collision risks near the airport. Additionally, the investigation identified the air traffic system’s overreliance on visual separation to promote traffic flow without considering the limitations of the see-and-avoid concept.
The collision, which occurred on Jan. 29, 2025, involved a US Army helicopter operating under the callsign PAT25 and PSA Airlines flight 5342. The aircraft impacted the Potomac River in southwest Washington, District of Columbia. Causal factors included the helicopter crew's lack of effective visual separation and the Army's failure to ensure pilots were aware of how error tolerances on barometric altimeters could cause them to fly above the maximum published helicopter route altitude.
The investigation also identified several contributing factors, such as the limitations of traffic awareness and collision alerting systems on both aircraft. The NTSB noted that unsustainable airport arrival rates and airline scheduling practices at DCA regularly strained the air traffic control tower workforce. Furthermore, the FAA's failure to implement previous NTSB recommendations, including Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast In, was cited as a contributing factor.
In response to the findings, the NTSB issued numerous safety recommendations. These include requests for the FAA to develop time-on-position limitations for supervisory air traffic control personnel and to reassess the airport arrival rate at DCA. The NTSB also recommended that the US Army implement a flight data monitoring program for rotary-wing aircraft and revise training procedures for crews operating in the Washington, DC, area.
The NTSB is scheduled to hold a board meeting on Jan. 27, 2026, to present various findings, including presentations from the Investigator-in-Charge and Air Traffic Control experts.
