AA5342 was en route from Wichita (ICT) to Washington (DCA) with 60 passengers and four (4) crew members and was on final approach for Runway 33 at an approximate altitude of 300 feet AMSL when the two aircraft collided. ATC audio captured by LiveATC.net records the air traffic controllers interacting with a helicopter call sign PAT25 moments before the collision. The PAT call sign is generally used by US military VIP transport aircraft, including the H60. The controller can be heard asking PAT25 if it has the CRJ in sight and then issuing a command to the helicopter. Seconds later the two aircraft collide and audible gasps are heard in the control tower.
Available data for download
The PSA Airlines CRJ-700 was broadcasting ADS-B messages. The high-frequency ADS-B data is available for download below. The H60 helicopter was only broadcasting Mode S data, it was not broadcasting ADS-B. Unfortunately the aircraft was flying too low for Flightradar24 to calculate MLAT positions, but Mode S data was received by the helicopter from 01:39 UTC to 01:44 UTC. At the time of the last message received, the aircraft was in level flight at 400 feet. The granular Mode S data from PAT25 is available for download as well.
Aircraft details
PSA Airlines flight 5342 was operated by a CRJ-701(ER), a common regional jet. The helicopter involved is reported by the FAA to be an H60, commonly known as a Black Hawk. The registration of the helicopter is unknown at this time.
Weather conditions
The relevant METAR reports for KDCA indicate visibility of 10 statute miles with winds at 15 knots, gusting to 25 knots out of the west, northwest.
KDCA 300052Z 29015G25KT 10SM CLR 11/M07 A2987 RMK AO2 SLP114 T01061072
KDCA 300152Z 30014G23KT 270V330 10SM CLR 10/M07 A2990 RMK AO2 PK WND 30033/0108 SLP126 T01001072
Aircraft operating areas
The chart below depicts the special helicopter routes in the Washington DC area. The NTSB confirmed in its 30 January briefing that the H-60 was flying south transiting from Route 1 to Route 4 along the Potomac River. The chart lists the maximum altitude along that particular route as 200 feet.
The image below is all ADS-B and MLAT positions for flights departing or arriving at Washington DCA and helicopter traffic in the region over a 48 hour period on 22-23 January 2025. Click on the image to view a full-sized version.
Investigative updates
30 January 2025
The NTSB confirmed it has recovered the Flight data recorder and Cockpit voice recorder from the CRJ-700. The recorders will be taken to the NTSB recorder lab for analysis.
31 January 2025
It has been reported by CNN and Reuters that the FAA is to permanently suspend helicopter routes 1 and 4 at DCA. The helicopter involved in the collision is believed to have been operating on route 4.
31 January 2025
The NTSB provided an update on the status of the data recorders from both aircraft. The CRJ-700’s flight data recorder has been examined and the NTSB has a “high level of confidence” the FDR is readable. The CRJ’s cockpit voice recorder showed evidence of water intrusion. This is not unusual in these circumstances and the NTSB’s recorder lab has take steps to ensure the CVR is also readable.
The H-60 helicopter has a single, combined flight data recorder and voice recorder. The NTSB reports that it has been recovered and taken to the NTSB lab in good condition.
1 February 2025
The NTSB provided additional updates today on information recovered from the CRJ’s flight data recorder, the condition of the H-60’s recorder, and the status of the air traffic controllers in the DCA tower.
- FDR data indicates the CRJ was at 325 feet ± 25 feet, this is ADS-B data combined with FDR data. Altitude reported by NTSB is corrected altitude data.
- Initial data indicates the altitude seen by the air traffic controller on the radar scope showed the aircraft at 200 feet. The NTSB hopes to verify that altitude by 2 February. The data shown on the radar scope is lower fidelity.
- The H-60 helicopter’s recorder shows evidence of water intrusion, the NTSB is drying the recording before retrieving data. It hopes to do this tomorrow.
- The FDR from the CRJ has been downloaded. It contains about 400 parameters.
- The CRJ’s cockpit voice recorder has now been downloaded and read out. All times listed in Eastern Standard Time —
- 20:45:27: CRJ Autopilot off
- 20:46:01: ATC makes PAT25 aware of CRJ south of the Wilson Bridge
- 20:46:29: 1000’ call out on CRJ
- 20:47:29: 500’ call out on CRJ
- 20:47:39: ATC asks if PAT25 has the CRJ in sight
- 20:47:40: TRAFFIC TRAFFIC aural alert sounds
- 20:47:42: DCA Tower directs PAT25 to pass behind the CRJ
- 20:47:58: CRJ crew has verbal reaction and airplane begins to increase its pitch
- 20:47:59: Sounds of impact
- There were 5 air traffic controllers in the DCA tower at the time of the accident
- 1 Local controller working fixed wing and helicopter traffice
- 1 Ground controller
- 1 local assistant controller
- 1 Supervisor
- 1 Supervisor in training
3 February 2025
The combined flight data and cockpit voice recorder has been successfully read by the NTSB. Investigators are now working to synchronize the recorders of both aircraft, ATC communications, and ATC radar data. The recorder from the Black Hawk did not contain timestamps, so investigators are manually recreating those.
The NTSB has completed its interviews with all five personnel on duty in the DCA air traffic control tower.
Salvage experts with the US Navy and the NTSB recovered the aft fuselage, right engine and right pylon of the CRJ today. The NTSB says salvage of all the wreckage will take “several days.”
4 February 2025
The NTSB states additional data from the Potomac TRACON shows the “Black Hawk was at 300 feet on the air traffic control display at the time of the collision. This data is rounded to the nearest 100 feet.”
Salvage operations also recovered significant additional portions of the CRJ today.
Work to transcribe the recorders is ongoing, alongside work to synchronize the H-60’s data recorder.
14 February 2025
The NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy and Recorder division branch chief Sean Payne, provided an in depth update today.
The US Army Black Hawk was conducting a combined annual and Night vision goggles (NVG) check ride, with the pilot flying under evaluation and the pilot monitoring conducting the evaluation.
The NTSB believes that the crew was wearing their NVGs at the time of the collision. If the crew had removed their NVGs, they were required to discuss “going un-aided,” and no such discussion is audible on the Black Hawk’s CVR.
Altitude data
Regarding altitudes, the NTSB is investigating a discrepancy between the announced altitudes by the pilot flying and the pilot monitoring. At 20:43:48 Eastern time, approximately 1.1 NM west of the Key Bridge, the pilot flying notes the helicopter is at 300 feet, while the pilot monitoring announces 400 feet.
The barometric altitude data displayed on the Black Hawk pilots’ primary flight displays is not recorded on the FDR. Also not recorded by the FDR is the barometric pressure setting inputted by the pilots to correct for local air pressure. Radio altitude data recorded on the FDR shows the Black Hawk at 278 feet above ground level at the time of impact. The NTSB is confident in the 278 feet AGL altitude, but it still has not determined what altitude was visible to the pilots on their flight displays.
Radio altitude data from the CRJ shows that aircraft at 313 feet above ground level at last report, which occurred 2 seconds prior to the collision.
Communications data
Analysis of the cockpit voice recorder audio shows there may have been portions of ATC instructions not audible to the Black Hawk crew. In the first instance, the word “circling” in the phrase “circling to land RWY 33” from DCA tower to the Black Hawk crew may not have been heard by the crew as the CVR does not contain the word circling. At 20:47:42, DCA tower directs the Black Hawk to pass behind the CRJ, but “pass behind the” may not have been heard by the helicopter crew.
The full timeline of CVR discussion and pilot action discussed in the 14 February briefing is available here.
The NTSB also notes that the Black Hawk was equipped with ADS-B Out, but it is not yet know why the aircraft was not broadcasting ADS-B.
11 March 2025 — NTSB releases preliminary report
The NTSB released its preliminary report on the accident on 11 March, providing a 20-page history of each flight, emergency response, and wreckage status. The report also addresses the airspace safety issues it believes contributed to the crash. The NTSB says that between 2011 and 2024, “at least one TCAS resolution advisory (RA) was triggered per month due to proximity to a helicopter. In over half of these instances, the helicopter may have been above the route altitude restriction. Two-thirds of the events occurred at night.”
The NTSB also issued two urgent safety recommendations to the FAA:
- Prohibit operations on helicopter Route 4 between Hains Point and the Wilson Bridge when runways 15 and 33 are being used for departures and arrivals, respectively, at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. (A-25-1) (Urgent)
- Designate an alternative helicopter route that can be used to facilitate travel between Hains Point and the Wilson Bridge when that segment of Route 4 is closed. (A-25-2) (Urgent)
13 March 2025
The FAA issued a revised helicopter route chart for the Washington DC area, specifically removing the helicopter routes 4 and 6 in the area of DCA and revising route 7 to the west of the airport. You can compare the old chart above with the revised chart below. For the full notice, including text descriptions of the route changes from the FAA, click here.
