Army investigation into deadly midair collision made public after months of pressure from victims’ families
By Alexandra Skores, CNN
Washington (CNN) — A US Army report on a deadly midair collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is now public, after months of pressure from the families of the passengers killed when the aircraft collided.
The 50-page document dated on May 14, 2026, was first reported by The Washington Post and details a series of systemic failures on the night of January 29, 2025, that ultimately led to the deaths of 67 people on the two aircraft.
The report, which was provided to victims’ families by the Army, summarizes the internal military investigation that coincided with the National Transportation Safety Board’s public probe completed earlier this year.
Army investigator Lt. General Michael McCurry found the helicopter crew was qualified and the Black Hawk didn’t have a mechanical failure, but “broken radio communications, instrumentation inaccuracies, intense urban lighting while operating under night vision goggles, and gusty winds with turbulence” made it hard to see and stay away from the American Airlines regional jet.
“Simultaneously, the layers of structural, procedural and technical risk mitigation failed to prevent a collision,” the report added.
The report also details recommendations the Army made to prevent a similar accident from happening again, but it does not assign individual responsibility or detail any disciplinary actions.
“Recommendations for change are important, but they are not a substitute for accountability,” said Tim Lilley, whose son Sam was the first officer flying American Airlines Flight 5342. “The Army owes the families and the American public a full accounting of how these risks were allowed to persist, who was responsible for the decisions that allowed them to persist and what will be done to make sure this never happens again.”
One recommendation included calling for wider use of anti-collision systems, called ADS-B on Army aircraft. The Black Hawk was not transmitting its location on the night of the collision, investigators found.
The Army’s report called for transmitting data, called ADS-B Out, when flying near Washington, DC, and receiving data, called ADS-B In, when flying in busy urban environments.
The families are calling for the systems to be implemented in all aircraft.
Two competing bills have stalled in Congress – one passed by the House and the other by the Senate – that would require the systems. The families want the measures to be combined, and the reconciled bill approved by both bodies.
“We have waited long enough,” Families of Flight 5342 said in a statement. “We waited for the NTSB. We waited for the Army. Both investigations are complete, and both make clear that collision avoidance technology must be part of the solution. There is nothing left for Congress to wait for.”
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