There has been a consistent stretch of Boeing aircraft malfunctions. A plane collided with a military helicopter in Washington D.C., causing both the most fatal and first major U.S. commercial flight crash in nearly 16 years. Just a couple of days later, another plane crashed into a Philadelphia neighborhood. Again, yet another crash, this time in Alaska. All three crashes claimed the lives of everyone on board. What is going on with American aviation?
What has happened
In a less-than-five-month span, two Boeing 737 MAX planes crashed in separate but similar incidents. Combined, 346 died in the crashes, one off the coast of Indonesia in October 2018 and the other in Ethiopia in March 2019. Following these crashes, the planes were grounded worldwide by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the latest major authority to ground them. The grounding lasted from March 2019 to December 2020 and was the longest ever by a U.S. airliner. Years after these crashes, in January 2024, a doorway plug blew off a plane while in flight, prompting another grounding by the FAA. The fatal crashes were not American flights, but the most recent incidents have been. Boeing is an American company.
On Jan. 29, 2025, a commercial flight returning to the Reagan National Airport was struck by a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River, killing all 67 people onboard the two aircrafts. The helicopter was on a required evaluation training flight. Despite FAA regulations requiring helicopters en route to stay at a 200-foot altitude or below, the investigation into the incident reports that the crash occurred at 325 feet, well above what is allowed for helicopters. Further discovery into the event is ongoing.
Just two days later, a medical jet that was carrying a child who had just received life-saving treatment crashed into Northeast Philadelphia, taking the lives of all six on board and the life of another individual on the ground in close proximity to the crash in their car. Many others, reportedly 24, were injured, with three in critical condition. The crash occurred approximately three miles from the Northeast Philadelphia Airport. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reported that the entire flight lasted less than a minute. Many details are still unknown as investigations are ongoing.
The nightmares don’t end there. There were 10 casualties on Feb. 6, 2025, in a plane wreck off the western coast of Alaska. Less than an hour after takeoff, the small commuter aircraft lost connection and disappeared, leading to the crash. A helicopter search team discovered the plane and its victims. This was the third major U.S. aviation disaster in just eight days. Along with the other crashes, this is under investigation and more details will be revealed with time.
These are not the only recent U.S. aviation errors, just the most notable and represent the biggest failures to be addressed by the FAA.
General Causes
Numerous reasons can cause a plane to crash, and typically, there is not just one, but a series of them. These reasons can be summed up into a few major categories: weather, mechanical failure and human error. The leading cause of crashes is pilot error.
Technological advancements have made it so pilots are not actually responsible for guiding the plane for a majority of the flight; however, they are still mainly in charge of takeoff and landing, which is where a lot of crashes happen. They also have to monitor engines and fuel consumption, communicate with air traffic controllers and control the aircraft, particularly in bad weather conditions and in emergencies. A minor mistake in any of these tasks can bring major consequences.
Unpredictable weather conditions can make air travel very difficult. While airports will try to work around the weather, unaccounted-for situations can arise and jeopardize the flight. The most dangerous of weather complications are unexpected lighting strikes, which can damage pipes and structural support along with electrical systems. Ultimately these situations will divert into emergency landings, which fall back on the pilot and human error. Still, pilots can only do the best they can with obstacles out of their control.
Faulty equipment, though uncommon with the extensive engineering for plane construction, leads to hazardous situations. These instances contain but are not limited to, mechanical parts being installed insufficiently or a poor aircraft design altogether. Many of these issues come with the engine, which usually needs the most repair; there have been many crashes that have been blamed on poor repairs. Other outside factors, such as weather and contact with birds, can lead the mechanical failure.
Causes in specific cases
In the first of Boeing’s incidents mentioned above, where the 737 MAX 8 crashed into the Java Sea and killed all 189 occupants in 2018, the National Transportation Safety Committee’s investigation found that a new software function, the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), in the aircraft’s flight control system had malfunctioned and pointed the aircraft downward. Its attack-of-angle (AoA) sensor was inaccurate due to faulty maintenance and sent inaccurate information to the MCAS, which consequently led to the MCAS pointing the nose of the plane downward. Boeing intentionally excluded the MCAS from the documentation of the aircraft for the crew, leaving them clueless about the system, its capabilities, and how to properly react. The pilots did not follow the correct procedures as the AoA continuously sent false data to the MCAS, repeatedly putting the aircraft in a dangerous position. The combination of failed maintenance and pilot negligence led the plane to crash into the water. The design of the plane by Boeing and the FAA’s certification of the MCAS were condemned by the FAA in the final report of their investigation.
Months later in 2019, the same plane model crashed in Bishoftu, Ethiopia, just six minutes after takeoff. All 157 occupants were killed. It is Ethiopia’s deadliest aviation accident in its history. Yet again, straight from takeoff, the plane’s AoA was faulty and misled the MCAS. It is unconfirmed why the AoA was damaged, but a bird hitting it is a possible explanation. This then prompted the MCAS to point the nose of the plane downward despite there being no conditions that mandated that response. Crew officers detected this right away and the pilots disabled the electrical trim tab system, which deactivated the MCAS software. Despite this attempt to savor the flight and lives of those on it, mistakes by the pilots diminished any hope. What actually makes the airplane make its downward tilt, which caused both accidents, is the horizontal stabilizer; though the pilots deactivated the trim tab system to stop the MCAS from doing more harm, they need the trim tab to also deactivate the stabilizer. Once the trim tab was deactivated, there was no realistic way of stopping the stabilizer and the plane remained heading towards the ground. Also, the pilots left the engine at full takeoff power, so the airplane remained accelerating while going down.
Boeing’s issues continued into 2024. While this led to no fatalities or injuries, a metal door plug came off the plane during an Alaska Airlines flight. The model of the plane was, again, a 737 MAX 9, the same one that had two accidents mentioned above. It was discovered by the NTSB that the plane was missing bolts—at least four—that should have been installed at a Boeing factory but were not. This led to an emergency landing, and further reporting by the NTSB had photo evidence that the plane was potentially flying without these bolts for nearly three months. The Boeing 737 MAX models were grounded again for 20 days on Jan. 6, 2024, by the FAA.
Much remains unknown about the cause of the crash outside Reagan National Airport, which had 67 deaths. Within thirty days of this article’s writing (Feb. 11), a preliminary report by the NTSB is expected; they say it is too soon to speculate causation. What is known, however, is that the helicopter was at an aviation higher than regulations allow and that the helicopter crew twice reported that they had a view of the commercial flight, including just 30 seconds before the collision. They ensured to air traffic control that they would maintain separation from it but failed to do so. Again, the causation for this incident is yet to be confirmed, but the helicopter’s behavior and intervention, or lack thereof, by air traffic control have drawn questions.
Similarly, the Philadelphia plane crash, which claimed the lives of all six occupants and another on the ground, is still under investigation and awaiting further details from the NTSB. What has been confirmed is that the aircraft disappeared from the radar and crashed 40 seconds later. An air traffic controller monitoring the aircraft was recorded calling for the pilot and asking if they were on frequency after they lost connection with each other, the radar and the controller. After getting no response, they could be heard urgently saying “We lost an aircraft.” This, along with the D.C. crash, appears to be isolated incidents, unlike the Boeing catastrophes, though that can not be confirmed until investigations are concluded.
Recap
All of these incidents, including those not mentioned, happened for different reasons and can not be generalized for being the root of the same issues. What can be said, though, is that Boeing was involved in a series of incidents with the 737 MAX and is being held accountable by the government for the systematic problems causing these issues. In 2025, a third person has taken over the role of Boeing’s CEO since the initial 2018 crash. As for the other two mentioned crashes, despite being just two days apart, they appear to have no connection and the timing was purely coincidental. These situations will continue to be investigated and the cause of the crashes will be discovered. During the D.C. crash, the position of FAA director was vacant after Michael Whitaker, the previous director, stepped down in December 2024, barely over a year into his five-year term, a term which was confirmed unanimously by the Senate. This came after Elon Musk targeted him and his work for the FAA, calling for his resignation. On the day between the D.C. and Philidelphia crash, President Trump appointed Chris Rocheleau as Acting FAA Administrator, though the full-time position has to be confirmed by the Senate.
While confusion about how these crashes occurred, who will step in full time for the FAA, and what the next steps are for the government lingers, you can still be assured that air travel is safe, problems were identified and solutions will come.
