New footage has emerged showing the exact moment an American Airlines plane collided mid-air with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport last year.The video, shared by 60 Minutes, shows the mid-air collision with plumes of smoke rising and flames erupting as the two planes crashed into each other.
The tragic accident, which occurred on January 29 last year, killed 67 people, including 64 passengers and crew and three soldiers on board the Black Hawk. The passenger plane, American Airlines Flight 5342, a Canadian-built Bombardier CRJ-701, twin-engined aircraft, was arriving from Wichita, Kansas, and flying at an altitude of approximately 400 feet at approximately 140 miles per hour over the Potomac River when the collision occurred.On the day of the collision, the Black Hawk helicopter, call sign PAT25, was conducting a routine training mission through restricted airspace near the airport. Following the accident, the Federal Aviation Administration implemented safety changes, including restricting helicopter traffic near the airport and moving some routes away from commercial flight paths. Transport Minister Sean Duffy said more than $12 billion had been secured to repair the air traffic control system. Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Brian Bedford called the accident a “sobering reminder” of the importance of safety reforms. This accident remains the deadliest mid-air collision in the United States since November 12, 2001.
