Army investigation into deadly midair collision made public after months of pressure from victim’s families

Kevin Lamarque/Reuters/File

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.”

Kevin Lamarque/路透社/档案照片

在遇难乘客家属数月施压后，美国陆军关于一架黑鹰直升机与一架美国航空公司支线喷气式飞机在罗纳德·里根华盛顿国家机场降落时发生的致命空中相撞事故的报告现已公开。

这份日期为 2026 年 5 月 14 日的 50 页文件最初由《华盛顿邮报》报道，详细描述了 2025 年 1 月 29 日晚发生的一系列系统性故障，最终导致两架飞机上的 67 人死亡。

这份由陆军提供给受害者家属的报告总结了军方内部调查，该调查与国家运输安全委员会今年早些时候完成的公开调查同时进行。

陆军调查员迈克尔·麦克库里中将发现，直升机机组人员合格，黑鹰直升机也没有机械故障，但是“无线电通信中断、仪器不准确、在夜视镜下操作时城市照明强烈，以及阵风湍流”使得难以看清并避开美国航空公司的支线喷气式飞机。

报告还指出，“与此同时，结构、程序和技术层面的风险缓解措施未能阻止碰撞的发生。”

该报告还详细列出了陆军为防止类似事故再次发生而提出的建议，但没有追究个人责任，也没有详细说明任何纪律处分。

“提出改革建议固然重要，但这并不能代替问责，”蒂姆·利利说道，他的儿子萨姆是美国航空5342航班的副驾驶。“陆军有义务向遇难者家属和美国公众全面交代，这些风险是如何持续存在的，谁应该为导致这些风险持续存在的决策负责，以及将采​​取哪些措施来确保此类事件不再发生。”

其中一项建议是呼吁更广泛地使用防撞系统，即陆军飞机上的ADS-B系统。调查人员发现，黑鹰直升机在碰撞当晚并未传输其位置信息。

陆军的报告要求，在华盛顿特区附近飞行时，应发送数据（称为 ADS-B Out）；在繁忙的城市环境中飞行时，应接收数据（称为 ADS-B In）。

这些家庭呼吁在所有飞机上实施这些系统。

两项相互竞争的法案在国会陷入僵局——一项已获众议院通过，另一项已获参议院通过——这两项法案都要求安装相关系统。这些家庭希望将这两项措施合并，并由两院共同批准最终的法案。

“我们已经等得够久了，”5342航班遇难者家属在一份声明中表示。“我们等过国家运输安全委员会（NTSB）的调查，也等过陆军的调查。两项调查都已完成，而且都明确指出，防撞技术必须是解决方案的一部分。国会无需再继续等待了。”