Washington, DC – The US government has officially acknowledged its legal responsibility for the mid-air crash that occurred near Ronald Reagan National Airport earlier this year. The crash killed 67 people and is considered one of the deadliest air disasters in the country in recent decades.
The admission came in court documents filed by the US Attorney General in federal court as part of a civil lawsuit brought by the family of one of the victims. The government confirmed that its agencies failed in their duty to protect the airspace, and that this directly contributed to the crash.
The documents, which exceeded 200 pages and were reviewed by AFP, revealed that the investigation uncovered a series of failures. These included shortcomings on the part of the military helicopter crew and air traffic controllers, as well as technical and organizational deficiencies within one of the busiest airspaces in the United States.
The collision occurred on January 29 between a Black Hawk military helicopter on a training mission and a CRJ-700 passenger plane belonging to an American airline. Both aircraft crashed into the icy waters of the Potomac River near Washington, D.C.
The government acknowledged that military pilots failed to follow established procedures for maintaining visibility and avoiding other aircraft. The investigation also documented violations by air traffic controllers related to coordination and adherence to established protocols.
The preliminary report from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) also indicated discrepancies in altitude readings inside the helicopter cockpit. There were also difficulties with radio communication between the parties involved in the incident, which further complicated the situation during its critical moments.
This air disaster is the deadliest in the United States since the 2001 New York passenger plane crash. This disaster has brought back to the forefront the debate about the safety of the airspace surrounding the American capital and the density of military and civilian air traffic in it.
