Near-daily warning signs about helicopters preceded D.C. midair collision, FAA data shows

Helicopters flew higher than allowed or close to landing and departing airplanes almost daily at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in the year before January's deadly midair collision , a CBS News data analysis of recently released Federal Aviation Administration data reveals.

On the same routes as the Army Black Hawk involved in the collision, helicopters came within 500 feet of airplanes landing or departing from the airport's runways 99 times in 2024, the analysis shows. That's an average of nearly twice per week. Encounters within 1,000 feet occurred multiple times per day.

In the year leading up to the collision with an American Airlines flight, claiming the lives of all 67 aboard the two aircraft, one out of every 10 helicopters flying in that area were above the ro