‘They Didn’t Learn:’ Former Army Pilot Calls for Change

As the DOT eyes reforms, a Black Hawk veteran says Army aviation has ‘normalized unsafe acts’ after a crash that killed 67—including his son.

Ryan Ewing

Friday, May 09, 2025 at 07:00 AM ET

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Ryan Ewing

Black Hawk helicopter over Washington [Credit: U.S. Air Force/Nicholas A. Priest]

Key Takeaways:

A recent close call involving an Army Black Hawk helicopter and two commercial jets near Reagan National Airport has reignited safety concerns, just months after a fatal collision involving the same Army battalion and a commercial jet killed 67 people at the same location.
Victim families, notably Tim Lilley, criticize the Army for perceived lack of transparency and for not learning from past incidents, expressing frustration that "unsafe acts" have been normalized.
Amidst these incidents, there is a bipartisan push, supported by victim families, for significant funding towards air traffic control modernization and stricter controls on military helicopter operations around the Pentagon, including temporary flight suspensions and limitations on who can use helicopter transport.

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On May 1, another close call made headlines near Reagan National Airport (KDCA) in Washington, D.C. This time, the incident involved two commercial jets—a Delta Air Lines A319 and a Republic Airways E170—and a Black Hawk helicopter from the Army’s 12th Aviation Battalion.

The helicopter’s crew took a “scenic route,” the FAA claimed, deviating from its planned route to the Pentagon. This divergence prompted a controller at Reagan National to call for go-arounds of the two jets.