By Andrew Tangel and Alison Sider

American Airlines Chief Executive Robert Isom said Flight 5342 was "on an otherwise normal approach" to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport when it collided with a military helicopter Wednesday night.

"At this time, we don't know why the military aircraft came into the path of the PSA aircraft," Isom said at a press conference, referring to the company's subsidiary that operated the Washington, D.C.-bound flight.

The regional jet "was inbound to Runway 1, and was queried if they could accept Runway 33 by the controller," according to an internal Federal Aviation Administration event summary viewed by The Wall Street Journal. The regional jet "accepted and was instructed to change to Runway 33 and cleared to land."

Pilots told the Journal that it isn't an unusual occurrence for planes to change their approach to a different runway from what was originally planned. The causes for such changes can vary.

Ben Berman, a former senior National Transportation Safety Board investigator and former 737 pilot familiar with the airport, said the regional jet's approach is favored by controllers at times to expedite departures and arrivals.

"It's a little more challenging, requires some manual flying skills and execution," Berman said. "It's not totally uncommon at National Airport because they like to use this configuration, especially when there's a strong northwest wind."

Berman said the approach has certain hazards that should be examined by investigators and FAA air-traffic planners because it brings jets into natural conflict with helicopters using a separate route.

"There's going to have to be some redesigning of that pronto as revealed by this accident," Berman said.

This item is part of a Wall Street Journal live coverage event. The full stream can be found by searching P/WSJL (WSJ Live Coverage).

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 30, 2025 18:42 ET (23:42 GMT)

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