The fatal mid-air collision between a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines passenger jet on January 29, which killed 67 people, was one of the U.S. Army’s most serious aviation accidents in years. However, a closer look at the data shows this was far from a one-off incident.
In fact, as per records, FY2024 was one of the worst aviation safety years for the US Army in a decade.
Financial Year 2024 will be a year that Army Aviation looks back on in hopes of “never repeating.” According to new statistics from the Aviation Division of the Directorate of Analysis and Prevention at the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center, there was a “steady decline in mishap rates per 100,000 hours beginning in 2006.”
However, FY2023 saw a “twofold increase in mishap rates from FY2022’s record low of 0.50 Class A mishaps per 100,000 hours.”
Further, FY2024 “produced a Class A mishap rate almost four times greater than FY2022.” The Class A mishap rate for FY2024 stood at 1.90 compared to 0.50 in FY2022.
Also, in 2024, Army Aviation recorded the highest number of Class A flight mishaps—the most serious type of aircraft accident—since 2014, and the worst Class A flight mishap rate per 10,000 hours since FY2007.
Class A mishaps are those that result in at least US$2.5 million in property damage, the destruction of an Army-maned aircraft, and/or a fatality or a catastrophic injury.
“There were 15 Class A flight mishaps and two Class A aircraft ground mishaps last year compared to nine flight and one aircraft ground accidents in 2023, and just four flight and four ground mishaps in 2022,” the report said.
The Army measures all years by fiscal year. However, it must be noted that the report is based on data compiled before the tragic January 29 accident involving a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines passenger jet that killed 67 people.
Nine Soldiers, one contractor, and one civilian died in flight mishaps, and another contractor died in an aircraft ground mishap in 2024.
According to the data, Boeing’s AH-64 Apache suffered the highest number of Class A mishaps in FY2024.
“The most obvious trend in the FY24 mishaps was the AH-64 fleet being overrepresented with nine of the 15 Class A flight mishaps. Eight of the AH-64 mishaps were attributed to human error, with two of those being attributed to maintenance errors. The final AH-64 mishap was a bird strike,” the report said.
The AH-64 was followed by the Eurocopter UH-72 Lakota, which suffered three Class A mishaps, more than in any year since its fielding.
AH-64 Apache: Army’s Most Mishap-Prone Aircraft?
The Army helicopter involved in the January 29 mid-air collision over Washington was a UH-60 Black Hawk from Bravo Company of the 12th Aviation Battalion at Davison Army Airfield, based at Fort Belvoir in Virginia.
Black Hawks also suffered 13 Class C mishaps in 2024. The Army Aviation defines Class C mishaps as those that can result in financial loss ranging from US$60,000 to half a million dollars in damage and non-fatal injuries that result in time away from work or training.
The data clearly shows that in 2024, AH-64 Apaches were the Army’s most mishap-prone aircraft. Nine out of 15 Class A mishaps in 2024 involved AH-64 Apaches. In fact, AH-64 Apaches suffered the highest number of Class A mishaps in the four years between 2020 and 2024.
During this period, AH-64 Apaches suffered 17 serious incidents, whereas Black Hawks had 12 serious incidents.
Human Errors Leading Factors In Army Aviation Accidents?
According to Flightfax, a newsletter focused on ‘Army Aircraft Mishap Prevention,’ in FY2024, eight out of nine AH-64 Apache Class A mishaps were caused by “human errors.”
Human error might also have played a part in Washington’s January 29 Black Hawk accident.
Investigators looking into the tragic midair collision have found indications that the helicopter’s altimeter may have provided inaccurate readings and that the pilots may not have heard some communications from the Reagan National Airport control tower.
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy revealed in February that a recording from the helicopter’s cockpit suggests the crew may not have heard the command to pass behind the airliner. This directive could have prevented the deadly accident.
The US Army has also acknowledged in reports over the last few years that “an ineffective safety culture was one of the most cited causes of Army on-duty mishaps.”
Army data from 2023-24 shows that 39 “unsafe acts” led to class-A mishaps: Out of the 39 ‘unsafe acts,’ 24 were termed skill errors, 12 judgment errors, and three intentional deviations from the protocol. The mishaps included multiple instances where a procedure or checklist wasn’t followed, an action was rushed or delayed, and one instance each of ignoring a warning and extreme lack of discipline.
The high number of AH-64 Apache mishaps might also have been caused by insufficient training or failure to follow established protocols. An AH-64E Yaw Study published by the Aviation Flight Test Directorate at the U.S. Army Test Center, Redstone Arsenal, shows pilots are not using the force trim system correctly and do not understand the heading hold mode.
“If pilots use force trim improperly, they may encounter an unanticipated yaw event or uncommanded flight control input that could result in aircraft damage or personnel injury,” it said.
Civil Aviation Accidents Also On The Rise?
Apart from military aviation accidents, civil aviation has also witnessed a spate of air accidents this year and last year.
January saw the mid-air collision involving American Airlines and the US Army Black Hawk helicopter. This was the deadliest air accident in US aviation history since 2001 and one that shook the country and raised several questions about air safety protocols.
Less than a month later, in February 2025, another incident occurred when a Delta Airlines plane crashed and overturned as it approached the Toronto Pearson Airport in Canada. The incident was attributed to strong winds in Toronto. Fortunately, there were no fatalities in the accident, but about 18 people were reported to be injured.
Data from the National Transportation Safety Board shows that there were 94 aviation accidents in 2025, which may be cause for concern. According to the stats, there were about 63 accidents in January alone and about 31 in February.
The safety board data further stated that there were 13 fatal aviation accidents this year, ten in January and three in February.
In January 2025, Air Busan Flight 391, an Airbus A321-200 traveling from Busan to Hong Kong, caught fire at Gimhae International Airport shortly before departure. All passengers survived, and about seven were injured.
In February 2025, a small aircraft carrying ten passengers lost height and speed and disappeared from radar before crashing in Alaska on February 6. The Alaska Department of Public Safety confirmed that there were no survivors.
That same month, at Chicago Midway Airport, a Southwest flight had to abort landing at the last moment to avoid colliding with a private jet on the runway.
These aviation incidents have even led to falling public confidence in air travel safety and declining sales for airliners.
Last month, CNN quoted Ed Bastian, the CEO of Delta Air Lines, as saying that the travel slump the airlines are experiencing this year is potentially caused at least in part by two recent accidents—one involving a Delta Air Lines aircraft and the other involving an American Airlines aircraft.
Speaking at the JPMorgan Chase investors conference, Ed Bastian said, “It caused a lot of shock among consumers.”
While Bastion did not specify the extent of the slowdown in ticket sales, his company cut its projected sales growth for the quarter in half, indicating that trouble is brewing.
Delta stated that a decline in consumer confidence and economic uncertainty is also negatively impacting air travel.
“We saw a pretty immediate stall in both corporate travel and bookings,” he noted. “Consumer confidence and certainty in air travel started to wane a little bit as questions of safety came in.”
Robert Isom, the CEO of American Airlines, also echoed sentiments similar to Bastion’s. Isom stated that the crash significantly affected the company’s lower-than-expected revenue projections for the quarter.
Meanwhile, according to data collected by OAG, a leading data platform for the global travel industry, advance flight bookings between the US and Canada for the next six months have collapsed by as much as 75 percent.
Clearly, troubled times are ahead for the aviation industry.
- Sumit Ahlawat has over a decade of experience in news media. He has worked with Press Trust of India, Times Now, Zee News, Economic Times, and Microsoft News. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Media and Modern History from The University of Sheffield, UK.
- He can be reached at ahlawat.sumit85 (at) gmail.com
