Army saw spike in deadly aviation accidents in year before DC plane crash disaster

Wednesday’s deadly collision betwixt an American Airlines formation and a subject chopper extracurricular Washington, D.C., followed the Army’s highest complaint of formation mishaps successful much than a decade. 

Army aviation saw 17 people A mishaps, accidents that killed idiosyncratic oregon caused much than $2.5 cardinal worthy of harm during fiscal twelvemonth 2024. Fifteen of those were during flights, and 2 were crushed craft mishaps. 

That followed 9 formation and 1 craft crushed incidents successful 2023 and 4 formation and 4 crushed mishaps successful 2022. 

"FY24 volition beryllium a twelvemonth that Army Aviation looks backmost connected successful hopes of ne'er repeating," stated a dismal Army report, released conscionable earlier the deadly collision adjacent Reagan National Airport that killed 67 people.

THIRD SOLDIER INSIDE BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER INVOLVED IN DC MIDAIR COLLISION IDENTIFIED

Fiscal twelvemonth 2024 saw the astir people A mishaps per 100,000 formation hours since 2007. Nine soldiers and 1 civilian died successful formation mishaps, portion 1 contractor died successful an craft crushed accident, according to the report.  

The 1.9 people A mishaps per 100,000 was astir 4 times the complaint of 2022, 0.5 per 100,000.

In an mean year, Army aviation mishaps termination six unit members. 

There were 66 people A-C mishaps, meaning aviation incidents wherever implicit $60,000 worthy of harm was incurred oregon unit were injured capable to miss work. 

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The UH-60 Black Hawk chopper progressive successful the Washington, D.C.-area clang is not the force’s astir accident-prone aircraft; it was lone progressive successful 1 of the 2024 large incidents, portion 9 specified incidents progressive AH-64 Apaches.

Last week’s clang was the archetypal people A mishap for fiscal twelvemonth 2025. 

55 VICTIMS IN WASHINGTON, DC MIDAIR COLLISION PULLED FROM POTOMAC RIVER AS RECOVERY OPERATION CONTINUES

The Navy had 11 Class A aviation mishaps successful FY 2024, and the Marine Corps had six. Five Marines died successful a CH-53E Super Stallion clang past February. The Air Force, which has much aviators than immoderate different branch, had 20 people A mishaps successful FY 2024. 

The Army attributed the spike successful incidents to an "ineffective information culture." 

Its aviation reappraisal called for much signaling and reviewing of formation footage with superiors aft it recovered that the mean formation acquisition is down 300 hours per aviator from 2013. While unit acquisition was not cited successful each incident, the Army deemed it "a hazard that indispensable beryllium considered."

"While it’s understandable to person concerns astir "big brother" monitoring, the superior extremity of formation information investigation is to amended safety, not to punish oregon scrutinize idiosyncratic pilots," the Army’s Combat Readiness Center said successful the report. 

HARROWING VIDEO FROM MILITARY BASE SHOWS NEW ANGLE OF MIDAIR CRASH CATASTROPHE

After much than a twelve aviators died successful the archetypal fractional of fiscal twelvemonth 2023, the Army conducted an aviation-wide basal down successful April 2023, temporarily grounding each regular missions and grooming to measure information issues. 

However, the accidents continued. In April 2024, the Army executed a information "stand up" with grooming connected caller information protocols and procedures. After the basal up, the people A mishap complaint for the remainder of FY 2024 dropped to 0.86 per 100,000 formation hours. 

Last week Army caput nominee Daniel Driscoll promised senators helium would stress a "culture of safety" aft the deadly crash, which helium said "seems to be  preventable." 

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"There are due times to instrumentality hazard and determination are inappropriate times to instrumentality risk," helium said. "I don’t cognize the details astir this one, but aft doing it, if confirmed, and moving with this committee to fig retired the facts, I deliberation we mightiness request to look astatine wherever is an due clip to instrumentality grooming risk, and it whitethorn not beryllium adjacent an airdrome similar Reagan."

The Black Hawk, carrying 3 Army pilots, was conducting an "annual proficiency grooming flight" erstwhile it collided with a commercialized determination pitchy from Wichita, Kansas, arsenic it was connected the descent to onshore astatine Reagan, according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. 

The Army did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.