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Newsweek
24-04-2025
- General
- Newsweek
How Many US Plane Crashes Have There Been in 2025? Updated List
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A military aircraft crash reported Thursday morning at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia has added urgency to questions about the rising number of U.S. aviation incidents in 2025. The April 24 crash may be the latest in a growing list of accidents tracked by federal safety agencies. In an emailed statement, an NTSB public affairs specialist said the agency is investigating a crash of an experimental MX Aircraft MXS near Hampton, Virginia, and preliminary information indicates the plane crashed on approach to Langley Air Force Base "under unknown circumstances." No immediate information about casualties or the cause was released. But the Langley crash follows a year already marked by several high-profile incidents, including a deadly midair collision near Washington, D.C., in January. File Photo: Search and rescue crews search for debris after an American Airlines passenger jet had crashed into a military helicopter while landing in Washington, D.C., on January 30, 2025. The crash was one deadly... File Photo: Search and rescue crews search for debris after an American Airlines passenger jet had crashed into a military helicopter while landing in Washington, D.C., on January 30, 2025. The crash was one deadly aviation accident this year. More mpi34/MediaPunch /IPX Why It Matters Aviation data from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have compiled dozens of incidents in just the first four months of the year. Among the most serious crashes this year was the January 29 collision involving a commercial jet and a military helicopter over the Potomac River. The PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700, operating as American Airlines Flight 5342, collided with a U.S. Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk during its approach to Reagan Washington National Airport. All 13 people aboard both aircraft were killed. That January collision was the deadliest U.S. plane crash since 2001, when a jet crashed into a New York City neighborhood shortly after takeoff, killing all 260 people on board and five more on the ground. How Many Crashes Have There Been in 2025 Thus Far? The NTSB logged 250 aviation incidents and accidents across the United States from January 1 to April 24, 2025. Of those incidents, approximately 215 were fatal. Through April 24, 2025, the NTSB logged 182 airplane-exclusive incidents and accidents across the United States. How Many Aviation Crashes Were There in 2024? NTSB data shows that throughout 2024, there were 1,199 aviation incidents and accidents, 180 of which were fatal. What's Next Investigators from the Air Force and the NTSB are expected to release preliminary findings on the Langley Air Force Base crash within 30 days. Meanwhile, federal agencies will continue compiling and reviewing accident data to determine if the 2025 uptick signals broader systemic issues.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
FAA investigating after 'green laser' flashed at Black Hawk helicopter
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating after the crew of a National Guard Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter reported being "illuminated" by a green laser about two miles from Hector International Airport in North Dakota. FAA officials said the incident happened at about 9 p.m. local time on Thursday. No injuries were reported, according to the agency. Faa 'Permanently Restricting' Washington Helicopter Traffic After Fatal Midair Collision Near Dc Airport The Army confirmed to Fox News Digital the aircraft was being operated by the National Guard. FAA officials notified local authorities and will investigate. Read On The Fox News App The incident comes just more than a week after a tour helicopter crashed into the Hudson River in Jersey City, New Jersey, on April 10, killing six people — including a pilot, two other adults and three children. 6 Dead, Including 3 Children, After Helicopter Plummets Into Hudson River Elsewwere, in January, an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided midair with a passenger plane over the Potomac River during an Army "flight check," killing 67 people. There were no survivors. Since then, the FAA said it was "taking a series of steps" to improve safety near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). Officials said they identified more than 15,000 instances of planes being alerted about helicopters in proximity between October 2021 and December 2024. Ohio State Highway Patrol Investigating Small Plane Crash, Pilot Dead The FAA announced in March it was permanently restricting non-essential helicopter operations around DCA, eliminating helicopter and fixed-wing mixed traffic, and permanently closing certain helicopter routes as recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board. Simultaneous use of certain runways was also prohibited, and the use of visual separation was limited to certain Coast Guard, Marines and Park Police helicopter operations outside restricted airspace. The National Guard did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for article source: FAA investigating after 'green laser' flashed at Black Hawk helicopter
Fox News
18-04-2025
- General
- Fox News
FAA investigating after 'green laser' flashed at Black Hawk helicopter
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating after the crew of a National Guard Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter reported being "illuminated" by a green laser about two miles from Hector International Airport in North Dakota. FAA officials said the incident happened at about 9 p.m. local time on Thursday. No injuries were reported, according to the agency. The Army confirmed to Fox News Digital the aircraft was being operated by the National Guard. FAA officials notified local authorities and will investigate. The incident comes just more than a week after a tour helicopter crashed into the Hudson River in Jersey City, New Jersey, on April 10, killing six people — including a pilot, two other adults and three children. Elsewwere, in January, an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided midair with a passenger plane over the Potomac River during an Army "flight check," killing 67 people. There were no survivors. Since then, the FAA said it was "taking a series of steps" to improve safety near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). Officials said they identified more than 15,000 instances of planes being alerted about helicopters in proximity between October 2021 and December 2024. The FAA announced in March it was permanently restricting non-essential helicopter operations around DCA, eliminating helicopter and fixed-wing mixed traffic, and permanently closing certain helicopter routes as recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board. Simultaneous use of certain runways was also prohibited, and the use of visual separation was limited to certain Coast Guard, Marines and Park Police helicopter operations outside restricted airspace. The National Guard did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
In wake of deadly D.C. helicopter crash, NTSB urges changes to address 'intolerable safety risk'
March 11 (UPI) -- Current airport flight safety practices create an "intolerable safety risk" that could be eliminated by changing allowed separation distances between helicopters and airplanes, federal officials say. Insufficient lateral distance regulations and the route used by a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter created a safety risk that contributed to the deadly midair collision that killed 67 near Ronald Reagan Washington [D.C.] National Airport on Jan. 29, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy told media on Tuesday. "The existing separation distances are insufficient and pose an intolerable risk to aviation safety," Homendy said. "There's a safety risk here and they [FAA] need to take immediate action." Homendy outlined two actions for the FAA to immediately impose at all airports. One is to impose lateral boundaries between airplanes and helicopters for helicopter routes that are near airports and require automated warnings to prevent collisions. The other recommendation is to change the standard route used by the helicopter between Hains Point, Md., and the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge over the Potomac River near the Washington, D.C., airport or order the helicopter to hold in place whenever a plane is using runways 15 or 33. NTSB investigators studied airport data regarding near-misses between airplanes and helicopters from 2011 through 2024 and determined the "vast majority" occurred while a plane was attempting to land at the airport, Homendy said. Additional data from October 2021 through December show 15,214 "occurrences" between planes and helicopters at the Washington, D.C., airport among 944,179 commercial flights, she said. Those occurrences are defined by instances in which airplanes and helicopters were within 1 nautical mile of each other and separated by less than 400 feet in vertical distance. Homendy said the airport recorded at least one close call every month, including 85 instances where airplanes and helicopters were separated by less than 1,500 feet laterally and less than 200 feet vertically. The danger posed to air travel exists at virtually every airport and not just the Washington, D.C., airport, which prompted the NTSB to urge the FAA to immediately adopt the two safety recommendations. "It's an intolerable risk to aviation safety. We have called on the DOT and FAA to take action," Homendy said. "It shouldn't take a tragedy like this to occur," she added. "Clearly, one did." Homendy said the NTSB is continuing to investigate the probable cause of the deadly midair collision between American Airlines Flight 5342 and the U.S Army helicopter. The crash occurred when an American Airlines-owned PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet carrying 64 passengers and crew and a U.S. Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter carrying three crew members collided over the Potomac River at 8:47 p.m. EST on Jan. 29. The airliner was attempting to land on Runway 33 after its earlier departure from Wichita, Kan. Homendy said the standard route used by the helicopter's crew during a nighttime training mission only provided 75 feet of vertical distance between the two aircraft, which she said it too close. "There's a serious safety issue here," Homendy said, adding that the FAA needs to take "immediate action" to eliminate that risk at the Washington, D.C., airport and all others. Homendy said the data has been in place for some time prior to the deadly collision and should have been reviewed to identify the danger and corrective action taken to prevent it. "It's stronger than an oversight," Homendy said in response to a reporter's question. "They could have used that data at any time. That didn't occur." NTSB officials also have suggested the helicopter crew received bad altimeter data that indicated 400 feet for one pilot and 300 feet for the other. All bodies and both aircraft were recovered from the river, and the NTSB transported the salvaged pieces of aircraft to an undisclosed location for further examination.
Yahoo
16-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Grieving father of DC plane crash pilot calls out government on air regulations: 'Written in blood'
The grieving father of the 28-year-old American Airlines pilot is calling for stricter regulations in the wake of the devastating midair collision near Washington, D.C. Sam Lilley was the first officer on American Airlines Flight 5342 when a U.S. Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter collided with the plane, causing the two aircraft to plunge into the Potomac River during the plane's descent into Ronald Reagan International Airport on Jan. 29. All 67 people aboard both aircraft were killed, making it the country's deadliest air disaster since 2001. "[Sam] was doing great in his career," Timothy Lilley, a former Army helicopter pilot, told Fox News Digital. "He was doing great in his personal life, he was set to be married." Who Are The Victims Of The Dc Plane Crash? Timothy Lilley served 20 years in the Army flying Black Hawk helicopters – the same aircraft that collided with the plane his son was flying – before piloting medical helicopters and later joining a regional airline. Read On The Fox News App In the wake of his son's death, Timothy is leveraging his experience to call on lawmakers and military officials to enact change, promising that part of Sam's legacy will be aviation safety. Now he is asking the military to cease flight operations at civilian airports, revamp training for pilots and require aircraft to have an operational Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) while inside Class B airspace. Dc Plane Crash: Military Aircraft Collisions Raise Questions About Training And Equipment, Expert Says Currently, military aircraft are not required to be equipped with TCAS when flying in Class B airspace, which comprises the largest civilian airports within the country, according to Lilley. "It's been said, and it is true, that most aviation regulations are written in blood," Lilley said. "That means that something terrible has to happen for us to make a change." Lilley is planning to testify in front of Congress and said that high-level Army officials have been receptive to his suggestions, paving the way for a future of safer skies. Lilley believes that Sam's passion for flying grew from watching him as a pilot. After earning a degree in marketing and logistics from Georgia Southern University, Sam shifted to aviation. He started flight training in 2019, got his commercial license the following year and became a flight instructor. Two years before the crash, he began flying for American Airlines' regional airline, PSA. "If he stayed at PSA long enough, he was going to end up at American Airlines," Lilley said. "He wanted to be an international captain and fly the 777s to Europe and Asia." Dc Plane Crash Timeline: Midair Collision Involves 67 Passengers, Crew Members, Soldiers Sam was also engaged to his long-time girlfriend, Lydia, and the two were planning on starting a family. The day before his death, Sam's mother went wedding venue shopping for the couple, with the ceremony scheduled for the fall. However, Sam's dreams were halted when the aircraft and helicopter collided, plunging into the icy Potomac on Jan. 29. Timothy Lilley was in New York City for work at the time of the crash, initially seeing reports of the incident on the news. "I realized there had been a plane crash, which, of course, sparked my interest," Lilley said. "But the chance of it being Sam was one and a million." When Lilley realized the plane was owned by PSA, he reached out to Sam but never heard back, confirming the unthinkable. Lilley traveled to the site of the tragedy and began piecing together what had caused Sam's plane to crash, but many of his questions remain unanswered. Investigators are working to retrieve data from the helicopter's black box, which sustained water damage during recovery efforts. Audio recordings from Sam's aircraft confirmed that the pilots attempted to evade impact. Dc Plane Crash Victim And Kansas City Chiefs Superfan Planned Return Home For Family Super Bowl Party "The crew had a verbal reaction," Brice Banning, NTSB investigator in charge, said. The data recorder within the aircraft shows "the airplane beginning to increase its pitch," according to Banning. "Sounds of impact were audible about one second later, followed by the end of the recording." WATCH: Investigators search D.C. plane crash wreckage A complete National Transportation Safety Board investigation could take up to a year, but authorities are hoping to have a preliminary report within 30 days. Investigators are also looking into the possibility that the airport's control tower was not fully staffed at the time of the crash. Until the investigation concludes, victims' families can only speculate about the collision that killed their loved ones. Lilley, as a former Black Hawk pilot who flew the same Potomac route "hundreds of times," believes he can offer a unique perspective. Survivor Of 1982 Dc Plane Crash Credits Pilot School Lesson With Saving His Life "There are hundreds of things that could have gone wrong in there," Lilley said. "Maybe both pilots had their heads down looking at the radio at once, maybe they thought a different aircraft was that one, maybe they saw lights on the ground and thought it was the aircraft, maybe they were doing an emergency procedure training, and they were distracted by that. I don't know what happened in that cockpit." Despite the tragedy, Lilley is finding peace among the families of the other victims and by honoring his son. Lilley told Fox News Digital that his local Georgia community has rallied around their family, with his company sending a private jet to transport Sam's loved ones to the site of the crash. "There were 67 people who lost their lives, and there were families there that had new widows and new orphans and who lost two children and Olympic hopefuls and high-caliber lawyers," Lilley said. "Every single person involved in this accident, I'd want to be friends with – both in the Black Hawk and in the [airplane]." He is also looking for ways to honor his son, including pushing for aviation safety and getting a tattoo in remembrance of Sam. PSA airlines has posthumously awarded Sam with the title of honorary captain, saying in a statement that "the title reflects not only his technical expertise but also the profound impact he had on our airline family." American Airlines did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. Click To Get The Fox News App "It's a tragedy, these lives ended way before any of us were ready for it," Lilley told Fox News article source: Grieving father of DC plane crash pilot calls out government on air regulations: 'Written in blood'
