Did a Black Hawk helicopter fail to respond to warnings seconds before colliding with a civilian airliner that was preparing to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on January 29, 2025? No, that's not true: Air traffic control audio archives show the helicopter crew acknowledged two advisories from air traffic controllers to avoid the oncoming aircraft. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed "there was communication between the aircraft and the tower."
The claim appeared in a post on X (archived here) on January 30, 2025.
It said:
Army helicopter did not respond to air traffic control's warning of nearby plane seconds before collision. Think it was intentional?
Here is how the post looked at the time of writing:
(Source: X screenshot taken on Thu Jan 30 16:26:36 2025 UTC)
The post on X did not include any attribution or evidence for its claim, nor did it contain or refer to any recordings of air traffic control (ATC) conversations with the helicopter crew. A version of the ATC recording without the helicopter's response was being shared on social media after the crash as supposed proof the helicopter crew did not reply.
On January 29, 2025, American Eagle Flight 5342 en route from Wichita, Kansas, to Washington, D.C., crashed while landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (archived here). According to a Pentagon statement (archived here), the accident involved a U.S. Army UH-60 helicopter, also known as a Black Hawk (archived here).
Chief of District of Columbia Fire and Rescue John Donnelly said in a news conference January 30, 2025, that none of the 64 people on board the passenger plane or three Army crew members on the helicopter likely survived the crash.
LiveATC.net records aviation audio feeds across the country (archived here). For each incident, there are multiple frequencies posted, which may have led to confusion over whether the Black Hawk crew replied to warnings.
The main tower frequency was shared by VASAviation, a YouTube channel created by a pilot and flight instructor based in Spain who has posted more than 900 airport tower conversations and videos of emergencies and crashes.
The VASAviation recording before the D.C. crash of air traffic control transmissions from the tower showed airport personnel twice advising the helicopter --- referred to as PAT25 -- that there was a passenger plane in the area. That plane, Flight 5342, was a Bombardier CRJ700. The tower referred to it as the CRJ:
At the 1:32 mark on the VASAviation recording, the controller for the first time alerts the helicopter about the passenger plane:
Air Traffic Controller: PAT25, traffic just south of the Woodrow Bridge, a CRJ it's 1200 feet setting up for runway 33.
At the 2:15 mark, the controller asks whether the helicopter sees the plane:
Air Traffic Controller: PAT25, do you have the CRJ in sight? PAT25, pass behind the CRJ.
Lead Stories confirmed the audio matches what was posted by LiveATC.net.
On the recording, there are no responses from the helicopter. That's because the Black Hawk responded on a different frequency reserved for helicopters, 134.350:
In a separate video, VASAviation included portions of that same helicopter frequency recording.
At the 0:25 mark, the Black Hawk does respond. This is the transcription provided by VASAviation:
Air Traffic Controller: PAT25, traffic just south of the Woodrow Bridge, a CRJ it's 1200 feet setting up for runway 33.
PAT25: PAT24 has the traffic in sight, request visual separation.
Air Traffic Controller: Visual separation approved.
At the 1:09 mark on the same recording, the Black Hawk also answers the warning from air traffic control:
Air Traffic Controller: PAT25 do you have the CRJ in sight? PAT25, pass behind the CRJ.
PAT25: PAT25 has the aircraft in sight, request visual separation.
On January 30, 2025, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a news conference there was no breakdown in communications between the military helicopter and the tower:
There was communication. It was standard communication. So there was not a breakdown if that's your question in communication between military helicopter and the American Airline flight. There was communication between the aircraft and the tower.
The helicopter was aware that there was a plane in the area.
For more Lead Stories fact checks of claims involving the plane crash at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, click here.
