Army Report Cites Systemic Failures in 67-Death Crash

At 8:47:59 p.m. ET on January 29, 2025, a fireball marked the collision of an Army Black Hawk and American Airlines flight 5342 near Reagan National Airport, killing 67. The CRJ700 from Wichita carried 60 passengers and 4 crew. Captain Rebecca Lobach requested visual separation after spotting the jet; she and Chief Warrant Officer Andrew Loyd Eaves received it. ATC ordered a left turn and to "pass behind" 15 seconds before impact. Eaves restated the order to Lobach seconds later. The Black Hawk did not change course. An Army report completed in May named two failed radio transmissions the most significant factor. It said leadership knew faulty altitude-reading instruments on old Black Hawks and left them unfixed, crews often missed semi-annual hour minimums, routes sat 75 feet apart. The Army said it "must implement and continue to grow as a learning organization and strengthen its safety culture." Families who received the report have pressed for public release. What's contested, and who says it: Sources agree on the core findings. Left-rated coverage foregrounds systemic failures and safety-culture fixes. Right-rated coverage foregrounds that the Army knew the helicopters were faulty and did not fix them.