DCA - American Airlines passenger plane collides with Blackhawk over the Potomac River, all 67 on both dead, 29 Jan 2025 #2

[Betty P]

Competency and success exceeds competitive bidding. Verizon had their chance an failed. A cell phone company, they have no experience or expertise in designing an FAA system. Millions of citizens from all countries fly in the US on a daily basis, human life is more important than competitive bidding. We're in dire straits with our air traffic control system.
Moo

You can have both. There’s no reason our government should hand out no bid contracts to friends of our elected officials, especially when they spend billions of dollars to help them get elected. It’s not just unethical, it’s illegal.

 

[Simply Southern]

Why have we not heard from Verizon? They've held a 2+BILLION dollar contract since 2023? Where are that at in the design process? Hoping a Congressional hearing to hear where they are in the process. Surely, the contract contained accountability standards/requirements.

We're having to shut down airports, reroute planes, have air traffic controllers out on stress leave, somethings got to give we're in an aviation crisis. Airlines and privately managed airports don't want to reduce flights due to revenue loss.


I believe in contract bidding, however, many times we are throwing billions of dollars to companies that never achieved the contract requirements, and leave us hanging at the end of the day.

An example ..... We heavily invested Billions in Boeing to design and create a vehicle to shuttle to the international space station. Currently, SpaceX and Russia are the only providers. Let's not forget, Boeing left our astronauts trapped in space for an extended period of time. Who rescued our astronauts...SpaceX. Boeing has since canceled their space program.

In 2018, Boeing was awarded a contract for two new Air Force One, with a delivery date of 2022. After billions in overrun cost, they now project 2027, maybe. Yeah, we'll be buying parts off of eBay here soon, the current Air Force One was built in 1987 !!!

Something's got to give on these government contracts. We keep doing business with companies that failed to meet contract requirements with no accountability, financial penalty, leaving US citizens on the hook for billions.

All my opinion.....

NASA says astronauts stuck in space will not return on Boeing capsule, will wait for SpaceX craft

The Starliner drama has been a major setback for Boeing’s space ambitions, adding to years of struggle to get the capsule off the ground and keep up with rival company SpaceX.

www.nbcnews.com

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/08/business/boeing-trump-air-force-one

 

[sds71]

"As you can imagine, losing people we love dearly in such a sudden and traumatic manner has been incredibly difficult," the letter reads. "Our lives — and the lives of so many others who were touched by our family members — will never be the same."
The families say that the Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration and American Airlines have all been in contact while the investigation into what happened is underway. However, the families claim to have yet to hear from the Army.
"We were deeply dismayed by your recent testimony at the June 5 hearing before the Senate Committee on Armed Services, where you reaffirmed the Army’s troubling stance of refusing to engage with the families of Flight 5342," the letter reads.

Families of Flight 5342 victims demand Army accountability

Families of those killed when an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with American Eagle flight 5342 say the Army isn't taking responsibility.

www.wusa9.com

 

[Betty P]

"As you can imagine, losing people we love dearly in such a sudden and traumatic manner has been incredibly difficult," the letter reads. "Our lives — and the lives of so many others who were touched by our family members — will never be the same."
The families say that the Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration and American Airlines have all been in contact while the investigation into what happened is underway. However, the families claim to have yet to hear from the Army.
"We were deeply dismayed by your recent testimony at the June 5 hearing before the Senate Committee on Armed Services, where you reaffirmed the Army’s troubling stance of refusing to engage with the families of Flight 5342," the letter reads.

Families of Flight 5342 victims demand Army accountability

Families of those killed when an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with American Eagle flight 5342 say the Army isn't taking responsibility.

www.wusa9.com

JMO Congress needs to take some responsibility, too for pushing to add so much traffic into that airspace.

 

[vls12345]

New information from NTSB hearing shows timeline of events in DC plane crash

The communications between pilots and air traffic control were laid out in a visual timeline in Day One of the NTSB investigative hearing.

www.kcci.com

 

[vls12345]

https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/30/us/ntsb-hearing-dc-crash

 

[vls12345]

NTSB hearing reveals more details of DC mid-air collision that killed 67 people

January 29 mid-air collision between passenger jet and Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. left 67 dead

www.independent.co.uk

 

[iamshadow21]

Pretty comprehensive article about the multitude of things leading to this crash on ABC Australia today.

US midair crash report finds chopper was flying higher than permitted

investigators aim to uncover insights into what caused the crash between the American Airlines plane and the Black Hawk helicopter over Ronald Reagan National Airport.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Dotta]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1950858900921593931

 

[Dotta]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1951380348803153969

 

[PayrollNerd]

Fox News is reporting a man walking his dog found parts of the airplane. I’m looking for a link that meets TOS.

Maybe this video?

Man finds airplane seat possibly from deadly January crash

Investigators in Virginia are probing whether debris found in the Potomac River is from this year’s deadly mid-air crash between a Black Hawk and airliner.

www.rocketcitynow.com

 

[PrairieWind]

Fox News is reporting a man walking his dog found parts of the airplane. I’m looking for a link that meets TOS.

Maybe this video?

Man finds airplane seat possibly from deadly January crash

Investigators in Virginia are probing whether debris found in the Potomac River is from this year’s deadly mid-air crash between a Black Hawk and airliner.

www.rocketcitynow.com

I suspect people will be finding debris for years. There is no way to recover it all.

 

[PayrollNerd]

First federal lawsuit over DC plane crash blames the airline, the FAA and the Army

Family members of those killed on American Airlines Flight 5342 announce first federal lawsuit over the collision between a regional jet and an Army helicopter near D.C.

abcnews.go.com

 

[sds71]

U.S. admits fault in deadly midair collision over Potomac River

The United States government admitted fault Wednesday night for the midair collision over the Potomac River in January, according to a court filing.

www.nbcwashington.com

US government admits negligence in helicopter-plane collision that killed 67

Official response to lawsuit filed by victims’ relatives admits FAA and army failures played role in Washington DC crash

www.theguardian.com

 

[Charlot123]

U.S. admits fault in deadly midair collision over Potomac River

The United States government admitted fault Wednesday night for the midair collision over the Potomac River in January, according to a court filing.

www.nbcwashington.com

US government admits negligence in helicopter-plane collision that killed 67

Official response to lawsuit filed by victims’ relatives admits FAA and army failures played role in Washington DC crash

www.theguardian.com

I fail to see how American Airlines is at fault. The captain and FO obeyed the directions to use that runway for landing and were at the right spot and time. How is it their fault that poorly trained BH pilot basically T-boned them?

Understanding the lawsuits strategy and all, but the pilots are absolutely not at fault. JMO.

 

[PrairieWind]

I fail to see how American Airlines is at fault. The captain and FO obeyed the directions to use that runway for landing and were at the right spot and time. How is it their fault that poorly trained BH pilot basically T-boned them?

Understanding the lawsuits strategy and all, but the pilots are absolutely not at fault. JMO.

I believe the Plaintiffs (families of deceased) are blaming American for continuing to fly into this airport despite knowing the dangers and thus exposed the passengers to unreasonable risks. I think that argument is a stretch but they try to name as many defendants as possibly. Especially since the government doesn't typically admit any wrongdoing. I am happy to see the DOJ is doing so here.

 

[Seattle1]

I fail to see how American Airlines is at fault. The captain and FO obeyed the directions to use that runway for landing and were at the right spot and time. How is it their fault that poorly trained BH pilot basically T-boned them?

Understanding the lawsuits strategy and all, but the pilots are absolutely not at fault. JMO.

The time to file a wrongful death civil lawsuit is governed by each state, and generally set at only two years from the date of the individual's death. This is a small window to bring suit when victims' families (Plaintiffs) are still trying to come to terms with their loss and grief.

Considering the timeline, right or wrong, it's not unusual to see every possible party-- down to the food caterer-- named in the initial filing!

The next step for the Defendants named in the suit (including American Airlines) is to file an answer to the civil complaint, where many successfully respond with a 'Motion to Dismiss.'

While I'm not familiar with the specifics of the first lawsuit filed by one of the Plaintiff's, it does appear from the reported response here that the Defendant agrees with OP. IMO, the government accepting some responsibility this early is very telling.

I think of the victims and their families often, and faced with the holiday season, I wish them the best.

NBC/US Govt accepts some responsibility

An American spokesman declined to comment on the filing, but in the airline’s motion to dismiss, American said “plaintiffs’ proper legal recourse is not against American. It is against the United States government … The Court should therefore dismiss American from this lawsuit.” The airline said that since the crash it has focused on supporting the families of the victims.

 

[Lalalacasbah]

I believe the Plaintiffs (families of deceased) are blaming American for continuing to fly into this airport despite knowing the dangers and thus exposed the passengers to unreasonable risks. I think that argument is a stretch but they try to name as many defendants as possibly. Especially since the government doesn't typically admit any wrongdoing. I am happy to see the DOJ is doing so here.

Are you meaning this is to set a type of precedent for risky air travel in general? ie: this was an accident waiting to happen for a long time and was in a way preventable had they made better decisions about airspace?

If so, I'm for it too. If any change can happen or a lesson learned and the government accountable maybe this will prevent future accidents. JMO MOO

 

[PrairieWind]

Are you meaning this is to set a type of precedent for risky air travel in general? ie: this was an accident waiting to happen for a long time and was in a way preventable had they made better decisions about airspace?

If so, I'm for it too. If any change can happen or a lesson learned and the government accountable maybe this will prevent future accidents. JMO MOO

I don't know what will come of this. Saying American Airlines should have stopped flying into this airport because it was so dangerous is a pretty bold statement. I don't know if a jury would buy it or if it would even get to a jury. I think AA would say they rely upon the FAA to ensure it is safe. As for the government accepting fault on its part, that is a case by case basis.