US Army identifies systemic breakdowns that led to DC midair collision

A newly released U.S. Army report identified systemic breakdowns that led to the 2025 midair collision between an American Airlines plane and an Army helicopter.

Some of the families of the 67 people who died in the crash have pushed for the release of the 50-page report — obtained by Politico — which was made in May.

“I have determined by a preponderance of the evidence that breakdowns across all layers of conflict management caused this accident,” Lt. Gen. Michael C. McCurry wrote in the report.

McCurry stated the “most salient contributing factor” was two broken radio transmissions, which resulted in the Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, or PAT 25, not receiving “critical details” from Reagan Washington National Airport’s air traffic control tower.

He also noted “cultural lighting played a significant role in the accident,” making it “more likely than not that the crew of PAT 25 was unable to discern the aircraft lighting of” the American Airlines flight “from the urban lighting.”

This was backed by a January National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report that also recommended a study be conducted “to identify factors that degrade communications equipment performance and adversely affect the safety of civilian and military flight operations.”

Of the recommendations, McCurry backed an NTSB recommendation for the Army to “revise the method for allocating resources to ensure the development of a robust safety management system.”

The crash occurred more than a year ago , when an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines flight when it was seconds away from landing at National Airport. None of the people on board either aircraft survived.

Families of Flight 5342 , an advocacy group formed by relatives of those who died in the crash, told NewsNation affiliate WDCW that “the helicopter crew faced city lights, limited visibility through night-vision goggles and interrupted radio calls.”

“The Army’s own investigation describes a system that left too little room for error and too many opportunities for a mistake to become fatal,” the group continued.

Some of the families filed a lawsuit in September 2025 against American Airlines and the federal government, alleging wrongful death and negligence.