The deadly mid-air crash in Washington, D.C., Wednesday night is likely the result of unique air traffic patterns in the area and shouldn't cause wider fears over air safety, says an aviation expert.
John Gradek, who teaches aviation management at McGill University, said the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport has seen rising activity over the years while military aircraft also frequently fly in the area, making it a higher-risk airspace.
"It's probably the busiest runway in the U.S. and when you have that level of volume and you also have military flights that use airspace around D.C., you know, it was an accident waiting to happen."
The collision between an American Airlines jet carrying 64 people and a Black Hawk Army helicopter carrying three soldiers is believed to have killed everyone on board both aircraft, making it the worst U.S. aviation disaster in almost a quarter century.
In this moment of great tragedy, we know that all Americans, and certainly the families who lost loved ones, deserve answers.
— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) January 30, 2025
As they conduct their investigation, I am certain the NTSB will get to the bottom of what happened.
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Global Affairs said it was not aware of any Canadians on board the flight.
Our hearts and our prayers go out to all of the families and loved ones impacted by this horrific collision.
— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) January 30, 2025
I am very proud of our first responders in DC and in the entire region who continue recovery efforts. We're going to support them every step of the way.
There was no immediate word on the cause of the collision, but officials say the jet was making a routine landing when the helicopter flew into its path.
Audio from air traffic controllers confirms they told the helicopter about the plane so it would have been the responsibility of the helicopter pilot to avoid the jet, Gradek said.
"It is up to the up to the military helicopters to really make sure they are very aware of what the traffic is around them, and they have to fly and avoid the incoming aircraft or outgoing aircraft."
The pilots of the jet would have been focused on landing as they were at around 350 feet of elevation, flying 225 kilometres an hour when the collision happened, he said, making it even more important for the helicopter to have made sure to avoid it.
"The Black Hawk, from what I understand, did acknowledge visible, visual on the aircraft," said Gradek.
"So whether they visually recognized the right airplane or not is something that Investigators will be looking at."
He said that while there are concerns about air traffic controller shortages in Canada, flight volumes are managed so they're never overstretched. He said at peak travel times like the summer there could be limits put on the number of flights because there aren't enough controllers around.
"So ... there's never an actual shortage of flight of controllers to handle the capacity or handle the demand."
There are also no airports in Canada that have anywhere near the volume of military flights that the D.C. area sees, reinforcing the unique circumstances of the crash, he said.
"It's an aberration as far as I'm concerned. It's not something that we should panic over at this point in time."
The crash follows several near misses at Reagan National Airport and other hubs over the past two years that prompted some officials and industry players to sound the alarm.
Last May, an American Airlines takeoff was aborted at National due to a risk of collision with a private jet. The close call came after a similar incident in April that involved a Southwest Airlines aircraft and a JetBlue Airways plane.
Last year, Congress mandated more daily flights at the hub — popular among the capital's political class due to its close proximity to downtown — despite the airport's opposition to more traffic. Some legislators, including Virginia's Sen. Tim Kaine, warned of potentially dire consequences.
In 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration convened industry leaders to address what it saw as a national system under strain. The agency announced plans to ratchet up hiring of air traffic controllers, deal with complaints of fatigue and install new technology to alert personnel when planes were on a possible collision course.
While rare, collisions between helicopters and aircraft are not unheard of in Canada.
Last July, a four-seat Cessna plane and a Bell helicopter struck each other in midair northwest of Edmonton in broad daylight and amid clear skies.
The Transportation Safety Board launched an investigation into the incident, which resulted in no injuries. Both the helicopter, which carried a single pilot, and the Cessna, which had a student and flight instructor on board, managed to land safely.
A shortage of air traffic controllers and a trend toward offloading safety responsibilities from government to industry remain concerns across the continent, according to Ross Aimer, CEO of California-based Aero Consulting Experts.
In September 2023, two Air Canada planes brushed each other on the ground at the Vancouver airport, tearing off parts of their wingtips in a low-speed collision.
In March 2023, an air traffic controller cleared an Air Canada Rouge plane for takeoff from Sarasota, Fla., just as an American Airlines jet made its final approach on the same runway, prompting the American pilot to pull up abruptly — one of a half-dozen incidents of conflicting runway use the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board was investigating at the time.
