The Main Squawk: The aviation industry is mourning the loss of sixty-seven who perished in a Potomac River mid-air collision
A U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with a PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 in the final approach path to Runway 33 at Washington-DCA on Wednesday, killing all sixty-four people aboard the CRJ700 and the three members of the U.S. Army aboard the Black Hawk helicopter. The tragedy has rattled the U.S. aviation community, long-regarded as the safest in the world, and has raised questions regarding air safety. Here’s what we know:
- The U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter, operating as PAT25, was conducting a training mission along published helicopter Routes 1-4 that traverse the final approach path to Runway 33
- The PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700, operating as PSA Airlines Flight 5342, was in the final approach path to land on Runway 33
- Anticipating a loss of separation between the two aircraft, the Tower controller asked the crew of PAT25 if they had the CRJ700 (Flight 5342) in sight, which confirmed visual contact with the jet and requested to maintain visual separation (which was approved by the Tower controller)
- As PAT25 flew south along Route 1 and Flight 5342 began its circling maneuver to line up with Runway 33, a Collision Alert sounded in the Tower as the two aircraft converged
- To mitigate the alert, the Tower controller immediately queried the crew of the PAT25 to confirm it still had the CRJ700 in sight, and further instructed the Black Hawk helicopter to “pass behind the CRJ”
- The crew of PAT25 acknowledged the instruction, re-confirmed that it had the CRJ700 in sight, and requested again to maintain visual separation (which was approved again by the Tower controller)
- Less than ten seconds later, the Black Hawk helicopter collided into the right side of Flight 5342
The pilots of the U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter were confirmed to be wearing night vision goggles during their training mission, which could have impeded their ability to differentiate the lights from the CRJ700 from lights on the ground.
The collision is spurring widespread debate amongst pilots about the use of visual separation, when it may be appropriate, the effectiveness of Traffic Collision Avoidance Systems (TCAS) on final approach, and general operating procedures in and around Washington-DCA. The NTSB has made several statements that it will be investigating the accident from all angles, including “all of the humans involved.”
While the NTSB has legal authority over the investigation into the collision, President Trump broke from the norm of refusing to comment about ongoing investigations and offered three possible ways the disaster could have been avoided. First, that the helicopter should have gone “up or down” to avoid the CRJ700. Second, that the hiring standards for air traffic controllers set by President Obama were far too weak. And lastly, that diversity, equity, and inclusion goals set by the Biden administration could be partly to blame for the accident. The NTSB refused to comment on the President’s remarks.
Spirit is placing another 230 pilots on furlough, effective January 31. The move was originally announced in October and has unfortunately become another grim reality for the struggling ULCC. To date, the Miramar-based airline has furloughed nearly 400 pilots since September.
The Company has yet to release its Q4 2024 earnings, which in-turn is preventing it from filing its annual report for the fiscal year ended 2024. The majority of the data included in the Company’s required 8-K reports have involved how the Airline is structuring its debt, which is typical for a company in the midst of bankruptcy.
In other news, Frontier is trying to make another pass at Spirit. The bankrupt carrier rejected Frontier’s offer, but mentioned it would be open to a higher bid if it included the option to put a Spirit Animal™ on one of its tails.
JetBlue posted better than expected revenue for Q4 2024, citing a $44 million net loss on revenue of $2.3 billion. Although the Company did not post a profit, analysts were expecting the Airline to do 30% worse than it revealed. In an earnings release, management attributed the improvement to a reduction in capacity of 5.1% compared to Q4 2023.
The surprising results are prompting JetBlue pilots to call on management to bolster their contract, who say they are unfairly compensated compared to their peers. Pilots at the Queens-based carrier have been in Section 6 negotiations since April 2024. The JetBlue pilot contract became amendable on February 1, 2025.
American is suspending service and reducing capacity on a few long-haul routes just in time for the summer travel season. The Airline is blaming Boeing for failing to deliver Boeing 787-9 aircraft on a previously agreed upon timeline. As a result, the Fort Worth-based carrier will be making the following changes to its summer schedule:
- Service between Miami and Paris will be suspended in from June through July
- Service between Philadelphia and Rome, and Dallas/Fort Worth and Honolulu will be reduced to once daily from June through August
- Service between Dallas/Fort Worth and London-LHR, and New York-JFK and London-LHR will reduce by one flight as early as May
- Service between Dallas/Forth Worth and Frankfurt will be suspended in June
- Service between New York-JFK and Madrid will be suspended from July through the beginning of August
American had previously announced to increase service between Philadelphia and Rome, but is now left eating its words. These changes are in addition to several widebody cuts the Airline announced in July 2024 from its west coast hubs.
Boeing posted a $3.8 billion loss in Q4 2024 and is hemorrhaging cash like a mother. In a regulatory filing, the aircraft manufacturing giant said it lost more than $35 billion since the second 737 MAX crash in March 2019. For the fiscal year ended 2024, the Company posted a whopping loss nearly $12 billion.
You’re On Guard! has been tracking the struggles at Boeing since its launch at the beginning of last year, including a door plug blow out on an Alaska Boeing 737 MAX 9 and a labor strike which ground operations to a halt at its facilities in Washington state.
What We’re Keeping an Eye On
Due to the nature of the current political arena, You’re On Guard! expects to see a reintroduction of an Age 67 bill at some point this year. Several versions of bills related to extending the retirement age for airline pilots to Age 67 were introduced during the previous Congressional session. All bills were killed in the Senate when the chamber was controlled by Democrats.
Air Canada was ordered to pay Brink’s $13,000 over losing a $15 million shipment of gold at Toronto-YYZ in April 2023. (No really, this actually happened.)
Emirates is planning to install business class suites on its Boeing 777X aircraft (whenever Boeing starts building them).
Japan Airlines will offer more service between Tokyo-NRT and San Diego effective March 30, increasing capacity from four flights weekly to one flight daily.
Jeju Air Flight 2216 investigators discovered duck DNA in the aircraft’s engines.
London City-LCY is seeking approval for larger jets to operate at London’s favorite single-runway airport.
Norse Atlantic is adding service between Athens and Los Angeles-LAX from June through September 2025.
Porter is launching service between Toronto-YYZ and New York-LGA on May 1. The route operate with Embraer 195 aircraft up to three times daily.
Scandinavian is the latest airline to join the free Starlink Wi-Fi party.
Southwest is adding over two dozen flights to New Orleans from Kansas City and Philadelphia, just in time for Super Bowl LIX.
TSA officers discovered 6,678 firearms in carry-on luggage last year.
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