On 29 January 2025, an Army Black Hawk and American Airlines flight 5342 collided over the Potomac. How did “in sight” become enough?
This video follows the chain the NTSB laid out: a helicopter route beside a runway approach, a combined tower position, a radio call missing one word, an altimeter reading low, and alarms that could not help. Every number comes from the NTSB final report, NTSB/AIR-26-02.
Chapters
0:00 “Do you have the jet in sight?”
0:28 The river, the runway and Route 4
2:31 A route everyone had worried about
4:18 The tower
5:30 The radio
8:00 The altimeter and the alarms
9:51 The last minute and the investigation
11:10 What changed
Sources
NTSB, Aviation Investigation Report NTSB/AIR-26-02, Midair Collision Between Sikorsky UH-60L (PAT25) and MHI RJ Aviation CL-600-2C10 (CRJ700) N709PS, PSA Airlines as American Airlines Flight 5342, near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, January 29, 2025: https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/AIR2602.pdf
Report figures: Courtesy: National Transportation Safety Board
Narration: AI-generated voice.
Reconstructions are illustrative and based on official reports.
In memory of the 67 people lost over the Potomac.
#AirCrash #NTSB #DisasterDocumentary
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