The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced it is increasing support and oversight for the air traffic control team at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).
In a statement released on April 2, 2025, the FAA said a Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) team will be visiting DCA Airport in early April 2025 to provide “confidential support for staff” after “stressful events”.
The FAA said it will conduct regular wellness checks at the facility and evaluate current arrival rates at the airport.
The agency announced plans to raise the number of operational supervisors from six to eight and will reassess the staffing levels of certified professional controllers at DCA Airport. Additionally, the FAA said it will review the airport’s hourly aircraft arrival rate, noting that arrivals are heavily concentrated in the final 30 minutes of each hour.
The announcement comes after a tragic mid-air collision near the Potomac River on January 29, 2025.
A PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet, operating Flight 5342 under American Airlines regional brand American Airlines, collided with a US Army Sikorsky H-60 helicopter while on its final approach to Runway 33 at DCA. The American Eagle flight was carrying around 60 passengers and four crew members, while three soldiers were on board the Black Hawk helicopter.
In early February 2025, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced that critical data regarding the final moments leading to the collision is located within the submerged wreckage.
The NTSB confirmed that the US Army Black Hawk was flying at an altitude of 300 feet at the time of the incident, 100 feet above the maximum authorized altitude of 200 feet for its flight path.
Additionally, officials reported that the bodies of all 67 victims who lost their lives in the crash have been recovered.
