Heart-stopping simulation shows minutes leading up to fatal crash between airliner, helicopter

A terrifying visual simulation recreated the minutes leading up to the tragic collision of an American Airlines flight and a Black Hawk helicopter that claimed 67 lives in 2025.

The animation, called the Aircraft Visibility Study, was shared on Tuesday by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) as it published its findings on the mid-air crash over the Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC.

Watch:

BREAKING: The NTSB has released an animation reconstructing the final three minutes before the midair collision near Washington D.C., illustrating what each crew could—and couldn’t—see at night and why see-and-avoid measures failed. pic.twitter.com/yzIhRC0oDV

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) January 27, 2026

The video shows pilots navigating the dark winter skies, exposing what the pilots could and could not see that night, as well as air traffic control not warning the two aircraft of their collision course.

The NTSB indicated that while “individual errors” led up to the crash, “no singular person is to blame for this – these were systemic issues across multiple organizations.” It also noted such issues as “a poorly designed helicopter route past the airport, the Black Hawk chopper flying 78 feet higher than it should have been, and the Army’s decision to turn off a system that would have broadcast the helicopter’s location more clearly” had a hand in the tragic moment.

From The Daily Mail:

Investigators say Lilley had the best position to see the helicopter, even though Captain Jonathan Campos was flying the jet.

The animation revealed grey ‘masked’ areas, showing parts of the cockpit that blocked the pilot’s view outside the aircraft – with bright lights from Washington, DC also confusing the view.

Investigators say the visuals highlight how difficult it would have been for the airline pilots to avoid the collision, and the NTSB has cited cockpit blind spots and ground lighting from the city as primary causes of the crash.

The NTSB also said the American Airlines flight made a left turn to line up with the runway at Ronald Reagan Airport, which put it on a collision course with the helicopter approaching from its right.

X users reacted to the footage:

That’s chilling…very sad

— Monica Evers (@MonicaEvers1) January 28, 2026

My question is why tf when the other pilot said stay at 200 ft did she start going above 300 ft

— CJ (@CJ_h04) January 28, 2026

The chopper said they had the plane in sight. Nothing else matters at that point. It’s their fault

— Let’s go (@strictlytrade) January 28, 2026

Clearly the military is at fault here. Unfortunately they were not focused.

— Roy C (@AGRPurdue1899) January 27, 2026

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