Army finds systemic failures contributed to midair crash over DC in 2025

The report said the UH-60 Black Hawk encountered broken radio communications, instrument inaccuracies, intense urban lighting while operating under night vision goggles and gusty winds

The Army found multiple systemic failures when a Black Hawk helicopter was involved in a midair crash with a commercial airliner in 2025. The Coast Guard, local, state and federal agencies respond to an aircraft collision in Washington, D.C., Jan. 30, 2025. (Class Brandon/U.S. Coast Guard) WASHINGTON — The Army found multiple systemic failures when a Black Hawk helicopter was involved in a midair crash with a commercial airliner over the Potomac River in 2025, killing 67 people. “In considering the circumstances and facts of this case, and consistent with (the National Transportation Safety Board) findings, I have determined by a preponderance of the evidence that breakdowns across all layers of conflict management caused this accident,” Lt.

Gen. Michael McCurry wrote in the 50-page report Stars and Stripes obtained Thursday. The report, which was completed in May, was shared with many of the families affected, The Washington Post and Associated Press reported. The report said that broken radio communications, instrument inaccuracies, intense urban lighting while operating under night vision goggles and gusty winds affected the Black Hawk crew’s ability to spot American Airlines Flight 5342 on the night of Jan. 29, 2025. McCurry wrote “the most salient contributing factor was the two broken radio transmissions” that kept the helicopter crew from identifying Flight 5342 as it was circling to land