US Midair Collision Over Washington Puts Spotlight on Rare Event

Jan. 30, 2025, 10:16 AM UTC

The tragedy over Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport late on Wednesday involving a regional aircraft and a military helicopter has put the spotlight on an occurence that is as rare as it is catastrophic: midair aircraft collisions.

As President Donald Trump pointed out, the airplane was on a “perfect and routine” line of approach, flying into one of the most densely populated and heavily surveilled air spaces, just miles away from the White House.

“It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn,” he wrote in a ...

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