Federal investigators have raised issues of a capacity for another lethal plane crash at Reagan National Airport, after a midair accident previously this year eliminated 67.

The National Transportation Safety Board gave an upgrade on their examination into the reason for the catastrophe which occurred on January 29 in Washington.

An American Airlines jetliner and a Black Hawk military helicopter collided in midair over the Potomac River, eliminating everyone on board both aircrafts.

As part of an initial report released on Tuesday, private investigators raised issues of more collisions involving helicopters at the airport.

NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said: 'We stay concerned about the considerable potential for future mid-air crash at DCA.'

Her issues focus on Transport Secretary Sean Duffy moving to restrict helicopter traffic around the area, however that is set to cease at the end of the month.

When police, medical or presidential transportation helicopters need to use the space civilian planes are stopped from being in the exact same location.

Homendy said the NTSB is now advising that the FAA discover a 'long-term service' for alternate paths for helicopters when 2 of the airport's runways are in usage.

Emergency units react after a traveler airplane hit a helicopter in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington Airport on January 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia

Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Bureau (NTSB) Jennifer Homendy speaks with press reporters about the 29 January mid-air crash

It was also exposed on Tuesday that there was alerting indications in the lead up to the deadly disaster.

Those probing the crash went through 944,179 operations between October 2021 and December 2024.

It was discovered that 15,214 'near-miss events' of planes getting notifies about helicopters being in close proximity between October 2021 and December 2024.

The NTSB likewise stated that there were 85 cases where two where laterally split by less than 1,500 feet, and a vertical separation of less than 200 feet.

Homendy added: 'That information from October 2021 through December 2024, (the FAA) might have utilized that info whenever to determine that we have a trend here and a problem here, and took a look at that route; that didn't take place, which is why we're taking action today. But unfortunately, individuals lost lives, and liked ones are grieving.'

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy knocked these findings at a later interview on Tuesday.

Duffy stated: 'I believe the concern is when this information is available in how did the FAA not understand. How did they not study the information to say "hi, this is a hot area, we are having near misses out on and if we don't change our ways we are gon na lose lives".'

He added: 'That wasn't done, possibly there was a focus on something other than security.'

Duffy would later on included when questioned by a reporter about the near misses that the information had 'p *** ed him off'.

Pictured: Parts of the wreckage seen sitting in the Potomac River after Flight 5342 clashed with an Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday night, killing 67 people

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Investigators believe that the helicopter associated with the crash may have had unreliable elevation readings in the minutes before the crash.

The accident likely occurred at an elevation simply under 300 feet, as the aircraft descended toward the chopper, which was above its 200-foot limit for that location.

On Tuesday American Airlines welcomed the report by the NTSB, saying: 'We're grateful for the National Transportation Safety Board's immediate security recommendations to limit helicopter traffic near DCA and for its thorough investigation.

'We will continue to collaborate carefully with PSA Airlines as it cooperates as an investigative celebration member.'

The helicopter pilots might have also missed part of another interaction, when the tower stated the jet was turning toward a various runway, Homendy said last month.

The helicopter was on a 'check' flight that night where the pilot was going through an annual test and a test on using night vision goggles, Homendy stated.

Investigators believe the team was using night vision goggles throughout the flight.

The Army has said the Black Hawk crew was extremely experienced, and accustomed to the congested skies around the nation ´ s capital.

At the time of the accident, a single air traffic controller was concurrently monitoring both the helicopter and aircraft traffic.

Those jobs are generally dealt with in between two individuals from 10am until 9:30 pm, according to an early FAA report seen by The New York Times.

Those tasks are normally handled in between 2 people from 10am till 9:30 pm, according to the report.

Surveillance footage taken from inside the airport recorded the minute the 2 collided in midair

At the time of the collision, a single air traffic controller was simultaneously keeping track of both the helicopter and aircraft traffic. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is seen here

After 9:30 pm the responsibilities are typically combined and left to a single person as the airport sees less traffic later in the night.

A manager apparently decided to integrate those tasks before the arranged cutoff time nevertheless, and permitted one air traffic controller to leave work early.

The FAA report stated that staffing setup 'was not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic'.

Reagan National has been understaffed for several years, with simply 19 fully accredited controllers as of September 2023 - well below the target of 30 - according to the most recent Air Traffic Controller Workforce Plan submitted to Congress.

The situation appeared to have enhanced ever since, as a source told CNN the Reagan National control tower was 85 percent staffed with 24 of 28 positions filled.

Chronic understaffing at air traffic control service towers is absolutely nothing new, with popular causes including high turnover and spending plan cuts.

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In order to fill the spaces, controllers are regularly asked to work 10-hour days, 6 days a week.

After the release of the report, former Inspector General of the US Department of Transportation Mary Schiavo deemed the findings as 'unusual'.

She said: 'This NTSB action is highly unusual. The release of an emergency recommendation asking for the FAA take immediate action, before the completion of the NTSB examination is unusual.'

The 2 aircraft had collided in a big fireball that showed up on dashcams of automobiles driving on highways that snake around the airport, before plunging into the river.

Less than a month later on, on February 17, a Delta guest aircraft crashed-landed upside down in disorderly scenes at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Canada.

Miraculously, everybody on board survived after being suspended upside-down by their seatbelts for several minutes up until they tentatively started evacuating.

The plane had actually been heading to Toronto from Minneapolis - Saint Paul International Airport with 76 passengers and 4 crew members on board.

Some 21 people were required to the health center for treatment to small injuries, and Delta has used everyone a no-strings $30,000 payout in settlement.

And the plane carnage is ongoing - on Sunday, yet another jet crash-landed, this time in a parking lot of a rural Pennsylvania retirement home.

Dramatic footage showed the Beechcraft A36TC appear in flames in the car park of Brethren Village in Manheim Township. Five people were rushed to healthcare facility.

Medics, ambulances, and emergency lorries rushed to the scene in Lancaster County as flames swallowed up the plane and close-by cars.

The aircraft took off as arranged on Sunday afternoon, however quickly asked for to land back on the tarmac since its door had opened.

American Airlines