Editorial: Why Were U.S. Near-Miss Red Flags Ignored?

The huge loss of lives in the mid-air collision of a commercial airliner and a military helicopter so close to a busy, important airport was a shocking tragedy. The ongoing investigation will determine the causes and contributing factors that led to the collision.

But the fatal crash of an American Airlines/American Eagle Bombardier regional jet after it was struck by a  U.S. Army helicopter raises many disturbing questions. The CRJ was on final approach to Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) when it was hit mere minutes before landing. The jet was at the right altitude and on the correct path for the runway that had been cleared by DCA controllers.

The Army helicopter, meanwhile, apparently was conducting a training mission that is routine at DCA. It must have come as an additional shock on top of unimaginable grief to those who lost family, friends and colleagues to learn that military aircraft are regularly cleared to fly paths that cut close to the airport’s challenging and constrained approach and takeoff paths, and that military aircraft essentially weave between constant airliner traffic, day and night.

If such practices were ever thought to make sense, the log of near misses at major  U.S. airports in the months leading up to this collision surely should have raised a red flag. For all the talk of doing something before the worst happened at some airport somewhere in the country, it appears insufficient action was taken, at least at DCA. Maybe at other airports too. On Feb. 25, a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 came perilously close to colliding with a business jet that crossed its path just as the 737 was about to touch down at Chicago Midway. A last-second go-around by the Southwest pilot saved a lot of lives.

At DCA, far from pressing for congestion to be mitigated and for military operations to be separated and ideally prevented from entering that airport’s take-off and landing paths, some lawmakers have been advocating to add flights to DCA. That might win them support from their home cities and personally a more convenient nonstop in and out of DC. But at what risk? The DCA crash seems to answer that question all too brutally.

This begs another broader but no less somber question—what must still be done to mitigate the likelihood of a collision at all of America’s commercial airports? FAA issued a report in early 2023 on how it was addressing “serious close calls,” adding data supporting the effectiveness of its actions. The question remains, however, why did these actions not prevent what seems to have been an avoidable collision at DCA and another near-miss at Midway?

Americans want to know.

Lawmakers should demand to know. The families of those onboard Flight 5342 deserve to know. And the management and crews of all airlines that use  U.S. airports must know.

The worst tragedy of all is that it’s already too late to say, “before it’s too late.”