Given the congestion in the skies on a daily basis, U.S. aviation has a remarkable safety record. However, Wednesday's midair collision between a passenger jet and an Army helicopter outside Washington, D.C., may have shattered the flying public's sense of safety. Mark Strassmann explains.

A regional jet carrying 64 people collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter while on approach to Reagan National Airport near Washington, DC.

D.C. Crash

The recent midair collision between a passenger jet and an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C., has raised concerns among the flying public, despite the U.S. having a strong aviation safety record. The incident involved American Airlines Flight 5342 for which the moment of midair impact was depicted on the flight tracking website flightradar24.com as the plane disappeared over the Potomac River. While U.S. aviation is traditionally seen as safe, experts note that the skies are increasingly congested. Daily, around 45,000 commercial planes are in the air according to flightradar24.com statistics.

Kit Darby, a retired commercial and military pilot, noted the challenges of navigating busy airspaces such as Washington’s Reagan National Airport. The airport was designed for 15 million passengers per year but now services over 26 million. Increased flights, air traffic control staffing issues, and the presence of private planes and drones in the skies all contribute to the stress on the aviation system. Despite these issues, the U.S. has not experienced a major commercial plane crash since the 2009 disaster in Buffalo that claimed 50 lives, marking the longest period without such an incident.

Reagan National Airport, along with New York's JFK and LaGuardia, is categorized by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as capacity-constrained, relying heavily on runway slots to manage air traffic. Over the last 20 years, Reagan National has reported at least nine near-midair collisions, reflecting the challenges of human judgment in aviation. Technological improvements in aviation have not been matched by advancements in human abilities, such as seeing and hearing, crucial for safe flying.



Where U.S. aviation safety stands after midair crash

planes are crowded, our skies are, too. This is a snapshot of today's U.S. air traffic on flightradar24.com. On average, 45,000 commercial planes are en route somewhere every day. This icon represents American Airlines Flight 5342 approaching Washington last night. At what appears to be the moment of midair impact, it freezes over the Potomac River, then disappears from the screen, shattering much of the flying public's sense of safety. It alerted me a lot more and made my nerves a little bit more on edge. Given that congestion in the skies, U.S. aviation has a remarkable safety record. It is safer to get on an airplane and go coast to coast at 30,000 feet and 600 miles an hour than it is to drive yourself to the airport at 60 miles an hour with four wheels on the ground. Kit Darby is a retired commercial and military pilot who now consults for businesses hiring pilots. He has flown in and out of Washington's Reagan National Airport for years. You've got to hit your spot. You know, you've got to do a good job of being a pilot to fly successfully to that airport. Trickier than most. Far trickier than most. Not since this disaster in Buffalo in 2009 has America seen a major commercial plane crash. That's nearly 16 years, the longest streak in U.S. aviation history. Fifty people were killed. Since that crash in Buffalo, our aviation system has grown more stressed, more tested every day. Increased flights, air traffic controller staffing issues, climate change, worsening weather, and more objects to avoid in the sky, including private planes and drones. Washington's Reagan National Airport, designed to service 15 million passengers a year, now processes more than 26 million. And it's one of three U.S. airports, along with New York's JFK and LaGuardia, relying on runway slots to limit air traffic. The FAA considers those airports capacity constrained. How much of it is reliant on humans getting it right? Well, everything's gotten better fast. People, however, remain an issue. Seeing, hearing, understanding, depth perception, all those factors are key. And they haven't gotten better as fast as the mechanical things have gotten. Another measure of a stressed system. Over the last 20 years, Reagan National Airport has reported at least nine near-midair collisions. For Eye on America, Mark Strassman, in Atlanta.

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D.C. Crash