Statement on NTSB Preliminary Report

Written By Doug Lane

Below is a statement from the families who lost loved ones in American Eagle Flight 5342, regarding the National Transportation Board’s preliminary report on the fatal midair collision on January 29, 2025, between American Eagle Flight 5342 and an Army Black Hawk UH-60 Helicopter:

“While the NTSB’s report sheds light on key factors of this event, it also reinforces what we, as the families of the victims, already suspected: serious, systemic failures in air travel safety cost our loved ones their lives and continues to threaten public safety.  

As a non-partisan, well-organized group of family members, we will not allow this tragedy to become just another statistic. Too often, safety recommendations stall or are ignored until the next disaster occurs. We are committed to aggressively and thoughtfully advocating for major air travel safety reforms to ensure that our loved ones’ deaths lead to real, lasting change and place public safety first and foremost. 

The NTSB’s preliminary report and its urgent safety recommendations confirm that longstanding risks in air traffic control, military-civilian airspace coordination, and near-miss reporting contributed to this crash. This was not an isolated incident, but a symptom of broader failures in our aviation safety system. If the necessary reforms had been implemented sooner, Flight 5342 likely would have landed safely and our family members would be home with us.” 

Signed by:

  • Laura Augendre

  • Rebecca Cesa

  • Bob Collins

  • Matthew Collins

  • Chris Elliott

  • Cindi Elliott

  • Rachel Feres

  • Amy Hunter

  • Audrey Keene

  • Doug Lane

  • Albert Livingston

  • Renee Parente

  • William Parente

  • Daniel Solomon

  • Rachelle Steene

  • Jin Zhou

  • Kevin Zhou

  • Sally Zhou

Doug Lane
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Statement on the 100-day anniversary of the Flight 5342 tragedy