The National Transportation Safety Board says the placement of a helicopter route so close to Reagan National Airport's secondary runway was a key factor in causing a midair aircraft collision that killed 67 people near Washington, D.C., a year ago.

So many things went wrong last Jan. 29 to contribute to the collision between an airliner and a U.S. Army helicopter that killed 67 people that the National Transportation Safety Board isn’t likely to identify a single cause at its hearing Tuesday.

A collision between a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines jet killed 67 people near Washington, D.C. in January 2025.

The U.S. government says the actions of an air traffic controller and Army helicopter pilot played a role in a fatal collision last January between an airliner and a Black Hawk near the nation’s capital.

In a story published Dec. 15, 2025, about aviation safety, The Associated Press erroneously reported that Sen. Ted Cruz was threatening another federal government shutdown if new restrictions on military flights are not approved by the end of January.

Senators from both parties are pushing to change a defense bill after crash investigators and victims' families warned it could undo key safety reforms.

Federal investigators say the loss of electrical power from a loose wire caused a huge cargo ship to lose propulsion and steering before crashing into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing it to collapse last year and killing six construction workers.

A long list of things went wrong in January and contributed to the collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines jet over Washington, D.

Aviation experts told the National Transportation Safety Board that night vision goggles may have created viewing difficulties for the pilots of a U.S. Army helicopter that collided with a passenger jet over Washington in January.

Long-standing concerns about military helicopters flying in crowded airspace and worries over short staffing among federal aviation workers have emerged as key factors in investigators’ inquiry into the fatal midair crash between an Army helicopter and a commercial airliner earlier this year.

Investigators have found that a helicopter involved in a deadly crash with a passenger plane over Washington was flying above its height limit.

The National Transportation Safety Board will hold three days of hearings on the fatal midair collision between a passenger jet and an Army helicopter.

The White House says the vice chair of the National Transportation Safety Board has been removed from his position, a rare move that comes as the federal agency charged with investigating aviation disasters juggles more than 1,000 cases.

Police and fire department divers are searching for the main and rear rotors of a sightseeing helicopter that broke apart in midair and crashed into the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey, killing six people.

The head of the Federal Aviation Administration has told Congress that the agency must do more to ensure flying remains safe after a midair collision over Washington, D.

A congressional hearing has reinforced the idea that the January collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter that killed all 67 people aboard both aircraft could have been prevented.

The head of the agency investigating the deadly midair collision that killed 67 said Wednesday that someone should have spotted the alarming number of near misses in the skies over the nation’s capital beforehand and reviewing the data now could prevent future crashes.

The Dames Point Bridge in Jacksonville was among the 68 bridges flagged by the NTSB in a report released Tuesday as we approach the one-year mark of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore.

The National Transportation Safety Board says a commuter plane that crashed on sea ice off Alaska and killed all 10 people on board was half a ton overweight for the known or possible weather conditions in the area.

The investigation into a January midair collision that killed 67 people near Washington, D.

Federal investigators looking for the cause of the January collision between a passenger jet and an Army helicopter near Washington, D.

The National Transportation Safety Board says a cockpit voice recorder was not working on a medical transport plane that crashed in Philadelphia in January and likely had not been working for several years.

Investigators say the crew of the Army helicopter that collided in midair with an American Airlines jet near Washington, D.

An American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter collided on Jan. 29 as the plane prepared to land at Washington, D.

The Army was one of 28 government agencies authorized to fly helicopters near Ronald Reagan National Airport before its Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines passenger jet last week, killing 67.

Philadelphia's mayor says five people hurt on the ground from a Learjet crash remain hospitalized, three of them are in critical condition.

Philadelphia's mayor says five people hurt on the ground from a Learjet crash remain hospitalized, three of them are in critical condition.

At least seven people were killed and 19 were injured when an air ambulance crashed to the ground on a busy Philadelphia street, creating what witnesses described as a massive fireball and a chaotic street scene.

President Donald Trump's remarks this week blaming diversity recruitment at the FAA as a potential reason for the plane crash that killed 67 people has drawn attention to the agency’s attempts to address its most pressing and long-standing staffing problem.

National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy says Norfolk Southern repeatedly tried to interfere with the investigation into the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment and shape its conclusions about what the agency called a flawed decision to blow open five tank cars and burn the vinyl chloride inside.

Days before the National Transportation Safety Board is set to explain why first responders were wrong to blow open five tank cars and burn the toxic chemical inside after the East Palestine derailment, Norfolk Southern said Friday it plans to lead an industrywide effort to improve the way those decisions are made.

Federal investigators say an air traffic’s controller’s faulty assumption nearly caused a runway collision at a Texas airport last year.

Investigators say the electrical blackouts experienced by the container ship Dali before it left Baltimore’s port were “mechanically distinct from” those that resulted in the deadly collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge hours later.

Federal safety investigators are focusing on the electrical power system of the massive container ship that veered off course and crashed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge last month.

The U.S. Coast Guard says the cargo ship that crashed into and collapsed a bridge in Baltimore underwent “routine engine maintenance” in port beforehand.

The National Transportation Safety Board says the cargo ship that caused the bridge collapse in Baltimore was carrying hazardous materials.

The nation’s chief accident investigator says she's gone to the top of Boeing — the company's CEO — and still can't get answers about who worked on the panel that blew off a jetliner in January.

Shares of Southwest are plunging as the airline said that it plans to reduce capacity and reevaluate its full-year financial outlook because of fewer expected aircraft deliveries from its supplier, Boeing.

Boeing has refused to disclose who worked on the door plug that blew off a jetliner in January, according to the head of the agency that's conducting the investigation.

Federal officials have briefed a congressional committee on their investigations into a jetliner that lost a panel of its fuselage in midflight this month and revealed that airlines have inspected 40 identical Boeing planes.

The loud boom startled passenger Kelly Bartlett, and the roaring wind that followed left her unnerved.

The decision by Alaska Airlines to stop flying one of its planes over the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii due to warnings from a cabin-pressurization system — yet keep flying it over land — is raising questions about whether the jet should have been in the air at all.

A federal official says the Boeing jetliner that suffered an inflight blowout over Portland, Oregon, was not being used for flights to Hawaii after a warning light that could have indicated a pressurization problem lit up on three different flights.

Few people thought much about “plugs” that seal unused exits on planes until one of them failed and blew a hole in an Alaska Airlines jet.

Federal officials have ordered the immediate grounding of some Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliners until they are inspected after an Alaska Airlines plane suffered a blowout that left a gaping hole in the side of the fuselage.

Safety officials are releasing details of their investigation into a close call between a FedEx plane and a Southwest Airlines jet earlier this year in Austin, Texas.

The nation’s top accident investigator says a surge in close calls between planes at U.S. airports this year is a clear warning sign that aviation is under stress.

U.S. investigators have confirmed that a mechanical issue caused the seaplane crash that killed 10 people off an island in Washington state last year.

Officials say firefighters who responded to February’s fiery train derailment in Ohio struggled to immediately identify the hazardous chemicals the train was hauling due to poor communication from the railroad.

The head of the National Transportation Safety Board is expressing concern about the safety risks that heavy electric vehicles pose if they collide with lighter vehicles.

The bodies of some of the 10 victims and most of a floatplane that crashed in Washington state’s Puget Sound earlier this month have been recovered.

The National Transportation Safety Board is recommending that all new vehicles in the U.S. be equipped with blood alcohol monitoring systems that can stop an intoxicated person from driving.

Federal investigators are vowing to put a collapsed bridge in a Pittsburgh park “under a microscope” as they examine evidence.

With traffic fatalities spiking, the nation’s top safety investigator says a widely cited government statistic that 94% of serious crashes are solely due to driver error is misleading and the Transportation Department should stop using it.

The head of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is calling on Tesla to act on recommendations to limit where its Autopilot driver-assist system can operate and to put a system in place to make sure drivers are paying attention.

Washington’s regional Metro system abruptly pulled more than half its fleet of trains from service early Monday morning over a lingering problem with the wheels and axles that caused a dramatic derailing last week.

The new chairman of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board wants to change the way governments and businesses look at highway safety to consider the whole system rather than individual driver behavior.

The Associated Press has learned that the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board will step down from his position at the end of June.

The National Transportation Safety Board has found that obstructed views and problems with a system that alerts pilots to nearby planes combined to cause the midair crash of Alaska sightseeing planes that killed six people two years ago.

On Tuesday, March 23, 2021, federal safety officials said tougher regulations are needed for air tour operators and hot-air balloon rides. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)Federal safety officials are making another push for stricter oversight of air tour operators and hot-air balloon rides after several deadly crashes in recent years. Safety board members said some of the operators exploit loopholes in FAA regulations to avoid stricter oversight. NTSB members said, however, those steps aren't enough and that some tour operators evade closer monitoring by how they describe their flights. The NTSB blamed poor decision-making by the pilot as the probable cause of the balloon crash, the worst U.S. aviation accident since 2009.

The captain of a scuba diving boat that caught fire and sank off the coast of California last year, killing 34 people who were trapped below deck, was indicted Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020, on federal manslaughter charges for one of the deadliest maritime disasters in recent U.S. history. Boylan and four other crew members, who had all been sleeping, escaped from the flaming boat after he made a breathless mayday call. The families of 32 victims have filed claims against boat owners Glen and Dana Fritzler and the company. The fire happened on the final night of a three-day Labor Day weekend scuba diving excursion near Santa Cruz Island off Santa Barbara. The family had been scuba diving together for at least a decade.

The NTSB also faulted the Coast Guard for not enforcing that requirement and recommended it develop a program to ensure boats with overnight passengers actually have the watchman. Last year’s tragedy during a Labor Day weekend scuba diving excursion near Santa Cruz Island off Santa Barbara prompted criminal and safety investigations. Before the disaster, Boylan and Truth Aquatics enjoyed a good reputation with customers and the Santa Barbara boating community. Attorneys for Boylan and Truth Aquatics did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The families of 32 victims have filed claims against the boat owners, Glen and Dana Fritzler, and Truth Aquatics.

The 75-foot commercial diving boat, called the Conception, caught fire Labor Day off the coast of Santa Cruz Island in Southern California. The Conception sank off the Southern California coast on Labor Day following a fire that claimed the lives of 34 passengers. "Reports that the remaining body not recovered is for certain in the boat are inaccurate," Raney said. We need to get divers back in the water to search parts of the boat that were unstable during prior searches." The escape hatch in the lower bunk level on the Vision -- the similar boat -- was small and difficult to see, access and maneuver, she said.

(CNN) - The Coast Guard Investigative Service served search warrants on Truth Aquatics, the owner of the diving boat that was swallowed up by flames off the California coast on Labor Day, Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office spokesman Lt. Eric Raney told CNN. "The Coast Guard was assisted by ATF which is investigating the fire and the FBI which has expertise in criminal investigations." Thirty-three bodies have been recovered and one remains missing, the sheriff's office said. The escape hatch in the lower bunk level on the Vision-- the similar boat -- was small, difficult to see, access and maneuver, she said. The Labor Day disaster may well spark changes in regulations of commercial dive boats and related vessels, said retired US Coast Guard Capt.

Of the 39 people aboard the 75-foot dive boat Conception, only five crew members, including the captain, were found alive. Preliminary indications are that "the cause of death was smoke inhalation" and "that the victims died prior to being burned," Brown told reporters. There are no plans for autopsies because of the belief that smoke inhalation killed the victims, Brown said. "At that point, due to heat, flames and smoke, the crew had to jump from the boat," Homendy said. Officials interviewed the owner operator of the dive boat, Homendy said, without giving any details.

Of the 39 people aboard the 75-foot dive boat Conception, only five crew members, including the captain, were found alive. The crew members tried to get down the ladder, but it was engulfed in flames. Crew members then went to the double doors of the galley to try to get to the passengers, but it too was engulfed in flames, NTSB investigators were told. They then tried and failed to get in through a window in the front of the vessel, Homendy said. Alcohol testing was done on four out of five surviving crew members, Neubauer said.