A former air traffic controller from the Washington, D.C. area has raised concerns about the systemic issues that were present when an American Airlines plane collided with a Black Hawk helicopter last year.

The tragic incident occurred on January 29, 2025, in the skies above Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, resulting in the deaths of all 67 passengers on board the plane after it collided mid-air with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter.

Emily Hanoka, who ended her shift just hours before the accident, has come forward to discuss the longstanding issues at the busy airport that she had observed well before the crash.

“There were clear cracks in the system, obvious gaps,” Hanoka stated during an interview with Sharyn Alfonsi on 60 Minutes, which aired on Sunday night.

“Frontline controllers have been sounding the alarm for years, saying, ‘This isn’t safe. This can’t go on. Please make changes.’ Unfortunately, those warnings went unheeded,” she revealed.

In a report released earlier this year, the National Transportation Safety Board confirmed that between 2021 to 2024, 85 near mid-air collisions between helicopters and commercial planes at the airport were reported to the FAA.

60 Minutes also obtained records that show that just one day before the fatal collision, two separate passenger jets had to take sudden action to avoid colliding with Army helicopters. 

‘The warning signs were all there,’ Hanoka said. ‘Controllers formed local safety councils and every time that a controller made these safety reports, another controller was compiling data to back up the recommendation. And many recommendations were made and they never went too far.’ 

Emily Hanoka, a former air traffic controller at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, spoke out about the ‘cracks in the system’ that existed before a fatal crash last year

An American Airlines flight collided with a Black Hawk helicopter mid-air over Reagan National Airport last year 

Part of the problem, Hanoka said, is that Reagan National Airport is owned by the federal government – and Congress decides how many flights can take off from the airport each day.

Since 2000, lawmakers added at least 50 flights a day to the airport’s roster and approved another 10 in 2024.

Reagan National Airport now transports 25 million passengers each year, 10 million more than its intended capacity.

‘Some hours are overloaded, to the point where it’s over the capacity that the airport can handle,’ Hanoka said, adding that there was ‘definitely pressure to get planes out.

‘I you do not move planes, you will get gridlock at the airport,’ she explained. 

Making matters even more complicated, airspace is restricted over the White House, the US Capitol and other government buildings, funneling planes and helicopters into the same narrow corridor over the Potomac River.

There are also only three short runways at Reagan that all interconnect, with the airport’s Runway 1 ranking as the busiest in the country, with more than 800 flights a day, or roughly one every minute. 

To meet the demand, Hanoka said air traffic controllers relied on what they called ‘squeeze play,’ which she said is ‘dependent on an aircraft rolling, an aircraft slowing and you know it’s gonna be a very close operation.’ 

Hanoka revealed how there are only three short runways at the airport, which all interconnect

Airspace is restricted over the White House, the US Capitol and other government buildings, funneling planes and helicopters into the same narrow corridor over the Potomac River

That is not a common practice at other airports, she noted.

‘So you’ll get new controllers come in, so they’ve transferred from other facilities and they’ll look at the operation and say, “Absolutely not,”‘ Hanoka said.

‘And they’ll withdraw from training. And that, when I was there was about 50 percent… About half of the people that walked in the building to train would say “Absolutely not.”‘

More than one year after the fatal collision, nearly one-third of controller positions  at the airport remain unfilled. 

‘It was surprising, walking into that work environment, how close aircraft were,’ she said. ‘This is what has to happen, in order to make this airspace work. 

‘And it did work,’ she noted. ‘It worked until it didn’t.’ 

In January, the NTSB determined that the mid-air crash was preventable as it cited ‘systemic failures,’ including ignored warning signs about the risks and a ‘helicopter route’ that was designed so poorly that in some parts of the sky, it allowed for just ’75 feet of vertical separation’ between helicopters and passenger jets. 

The crash marked the deadliest commercial aviation accident in the US in almost 25 years

All 67 passengers onboard the American Airlines flight were killed

The night of the crash, which became the deadliest commercial aviation accident in the US in almost 25 years, investigators said the Black Hawk crew was relying solely on ‘visual separation’ – looking out the window to avoid nearby passenger jets.

The Black Hawk was then flying 78 feet higher than it should have been as the Army pilots turned off a system that would have broadcast the helicopter’s location more clearly.

The pilots had decided not to use anti-collision technology known as Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, or ADS-B, on its Black Hawk helicopter, which could have prevented the collision in accordance with a Federal Aviation Administration memorandum that allowed it to be turned off.

The NTSB also presented ‘major discrepancies’ in the helicopter’s altitude readouts that could have led the soldiers on board to believe they were flying lower over the Potomac River than they actually were, reports CNN. 

The agency further noted that 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.

An animation showing the view from inside the jet’s cockpit, meanwhile, showed pilots were dealing with dark skies and landing with the help of night-vision, while air traffic controllers failed to warn them they were on course to hit the helicopter.

The chopper then appeared suddenly to the left of the plane’s windshield, hitting the jet in a flash and without offering any time for the pilots to swerve out of the way.

The wreckage from the American Airlines flight is seen being pulled from the water 

Following the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) made a number of changes to ensure helicopters and planes no longer share the airspace above Ronald Reagan Airport in Washington DC. 

Those changes were then made permanent by the NTSB in January. 

 This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

This week, landmark jury decisions against Meta and YouTube have sent a clear message to major technology companies, as they become the first to be held accountable for the influence of social media on young users.

In the midst of Congressional inaction on regulating these platforms for the safety of children, these legal outcomes could provide a new impetus for advocacy and lawsuits focused on protecting minors online, according to experts in law and technology.

Allison Fitzpatrick, a partner at the law firm Davis+Gilbert specializing in advertising and marketing, remarked on Wednesday, “These verdicts serve as a crucial alert to social media companies that merely maintaining the current state of affairs is no longer enough. Concrete actions are required to ensure the online protection of children and teenagers, especially on social media.”

The decisions in California and New Mexico follow persistent efforts by child safety advocates and parents, who have actively campaigned on Capitol Hill for laws that would hold tech giants accountable for threats posed by their platforms to young users.

In California, the jury found that both Meta and YouTube were negligent in the way they designed or operated their platforms, leading to a mandate for the companies to jointly compensate the plaintiffs with $6 million.

The case, brought by a 20-year-old named K.G.M., consolidated thousands of lawsuits brought by individuals, school districts and states against multiple social media companies. Lawyers said K.G.M. became addicted to the platforms, prompting or worsening mental health issues. 

A day earlier, a jury in New Mexico found Meta liable for compromising children’s safety online and violating the state’s Unfair Practices Act, which prohibits unfair, deceptive and misleading business ventures across the state. The jury awarded $375 million in damages.

The future of kids’ online safety 

The verdicts do not require Meta or Google to immediately change their platforms’ design or operations, but advocates hope they will push social media companies to rethink the platforms’ more addictive qualities that keep children on screens for hours. 

“This is not about that content, but really about the way that these platforms are using these addictive design features to engage kids and teens for longer on the platform,” Holly Grosshans, senior counsel for tech policy at the kids safety nonprofit Common Sense Media, told The Hill on Thursday. 

In 2025, Common Sense Media found children ages 8 and younger spend an average of two and a half hours a day with screen media. By age 2, 40 percent of children have their own tablet. 

The damages are just a fraction of Meta and YouTube’s revenue, but Fitzpatrick predicted the threat of future verdicts and multiplied damages could be enough to spark change at the companies. 

“I don’t think it’s coming from goodwill or best practices, I think there is a real threat of thousands more lawsuits coming after,” Fitzpatrick added. 

Others are hopeful this could send social media companies “back to the drawing board.”

“[What] I would want to see is a place like Meta have a public transparency platform where it’s clear that they are taking in knowledge insights from diverse people and then inputting it into the new design of platforms,” so the public “knows what they’re experiencing, what they’re getting into,“ said Desmond Patton, founding director of SAFELab at the University of Pennsylvania, which researches how youth of color can navigate violence on social media.

Is this Big Tech’s ‘Big Tobacco’ moment?

Critics of Big Tech were quick to compare the moment to the legal fight tobacco companies faced in the 1990s over the addictive and detrimental health effects of nicotine. That battle resulted in a $206 billion settlement and sweeping changes to the marketing for smoking. 

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who has pushed for the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) in Congress for years and was involved with the state lawsuits against Big Tobacco, said he is “struck by similarities to winning legal strategies against Big Tech.” 

“History rhymes, even if it doesn’t repeat exactly, with behemoth corporate bullies held accountable for abuses & lies caused foreseeable death & injury to consumers,” Blumenthal wrote in a thread on the social platform X on Thursday. “Both, despite ongoing distortion & deception, have been brought to justice by courageous survivors, their families and advocates.”  

Google and Meta both said they plan to appeal California’s case.

José Castañeda, a Google spokesperson, said, “This case misunderstands YouTube, which is a responsibly built streaming platform, not a social media site.”

A Meta spokesperson told The Hill the company “respectfully disagrees” with the verdict and will appeal, adding, “Reducing something as complex as teen mental health to a single cause risks leaving the many, broader issues teens face today unaddressed and overlooks the fact that many teens rely on digital communities to connect and find belonging.”

Meta has rolled out a series of features over the years intended to protect kids, including “teen accounts” with more privacy for users younger than 18.

Section 230 debate continues

Tech firms have typically avoided liability thanks to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which largely protects them from being held legally responsible for third-party or user content. This 1996 provision was written ahead of the creation of most social media, and tech watchdog groups argue it should be updated to reflect the new online ecosystem. 

The verdicts are some of the first to get past this shield, with experts predicting a “watershed moment” for similar claims.

Fitzpatrick said both cases are based not on content but the design and operation features, which made it easier for lawyers to get around Section 230 and other free speech arguments that typically arise with online content. 

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have introduced legislation to sunset Section 230, though priorities around reforming the law have historically differed, and no bills have made it across the finish line. 

For some tech observers, this week’s verdicts are raising questions about what this means for the future of Section 230 and the downstream impact the rulings could have on small and midsize tech companies. 

“There are a lot of concerns that this could open the floodgates of litigation, not only to large tech platforms, but to smaller and midsized platforms,” said Jennifer Huddleston, a senior fellow in technology policy at the libertarian think tank Cato Institute. 

“Even if those platforms ultimately are vindicated that they did everything right with their product, they have the right safety features … if we start to [see] hundreds or thousands of cases, that litigation could get particularly costly and really hurt their ability to potentially compete in the market,” Huddleston added, suggesting the verdicts could undermine the “competitive nature” of Section 230. 

Huddleston noted litigation against social media companies varies in type, though legal outcomes “inevitably interact.” New Mexico dealt with state law enforcement, while California was private, for product liability and negligent design. 

Eyes on Congress

As juries are moving on the issue, eyes also turn to Congress, which has tried and failed to pass most related legislation. 

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle who have longed to see a reckoning against Big Tech applauded the verdicts, though it is unclear whether this will lead to progress on their bills.

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) used the ruling to call on the House to pass the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy and Protection Act (COPPA 2.0), which passed unanimously through the Senate in March. The legislation would make it so companies cannot collect personal information on those under the age of 17 and bans targeted advertising to children.

“Big Tech is finally facing the consequences for its actions,” Markey said in a statement. “Congress must do its part to impose real guardrails on these platforms.” 

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) called on her colleagues to advance KOSA out of a Senate committee, a bill that would require companies to limit addictive features and give parents tools to monitor and control their children’s social media experience. 

While these cases could renew a push among lawmakers, some predict Big Tech companies will not back down so easily.

“I think the social media companies will fight that very hard, and it’s a question of whether there are tons of lawsuits and whether they can pile up in favor of the plaintiffs and whether these organizations and certain people that are out there championing this cause can push our legislators and other government authorities to do more,” said Barry R. Davis, a physician and author of “The Preventioneers.”

On Friday, Geena Davis left fans astonished in Chicago as she radiated elegance and vitality at the age of 70.

She initially captivated audiences in 1982 with her breakthrough performance in Tootsie. Starring alongside Jessica Lange and Dustin Hoffman, she portrayed a delightful yet slightly scatterbrained soap opera actress.

Davis’s career swiftly gained momentum with memorable roles in The Fly (1986) and Beetlejuice (1988). Her talent was further recognized when she clinched an Academy Award for her role in The Accidental Tourist (1988).

By 1991, Davis had cemented her status as a renowned actress, notably with her iconic on-screen kiss with Brad Pitt in Thelma & Louise, where she starred alongside Susan Sarandon.

Her impressive trajectory continued with A League of Their Own in 1992, where she starred with Tom Hanks and Madonna, taking on a pioneering role that further solidified her status in Hollywood.

At the A League of Their Own panel on Friday, Davis looked as though she had discovered the secret to eternal youth, dazzling fans with her youthful energy and beauty.

Oscar-winning actress Geena Davis first gained recognition in 1982 for showcasing her striking model physique in Tootsie 

Davis also turned heads in a pink bikini in the 1988 comedy Earth Girls Are Easy

In the iconic 1991 film Thelma & Louise, Davis shared a brief on-screen romance with a then-rising Brad Pitt (pictured), who was seven years her junior 

Wearing a chic navy top paired with dark grey trousers, the star beamed a dazzling smile while speaking on stage during the Q&A session.

Her long chestnut hair cascaded freely, perfectly complementing her signature, effortlessly radiant look.

In a reflective moment last year, Davis shared that it wasn’t until adulthood that she learned to embrace herself ‘unapologetically.’

Standing at an impressive six feet tall, the actress admitted that her height was a source of discomfort in her youth. She revealed she even used to ‘wish’ she were shorter before finally accepting it as she grew older.

Davis shared with People: ‘I’ve always been tall – I was a tall baby. As a kid, my fondest wish was to take up less space in the world. It was only as an adult I realized I could be all of who I was, unapologetically.’

Her experiences growing up led her to write the book The Girl Who Was Too Big for the Page, aimed at offering young people the ‘reassurance’ that it’s okay to stay true to themselves, no matter their size or dreams.

She explained: ‘So I wrote this book for all of the ‘too big’ children — including children with big personalities and big dreams — who need reassurance that they can be their true selves and make their own space in the world.’

Davis added, ‘It was a joy to write, and so wonderful to be able to illustrate my own words to bring my characters to life.’

Before her acting career, Davis, the 6ft tall beauty, worked as a model, appearing in an ad for A&M

Davis later skyrocketed to fame in Thelma & Louise (1991), where she starred alongside Susan Sarandon, creating one of Hollywood’s most memorable female duos

In 2022, Davis admitted said she carried a ‘huge burden of shame’ before being diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder.

The brunette added she discovered she suffered the condition when she started seeing a therapist who told her she had it by their second session.

Geena, who has daughter Alizeh and twin sons Kian and Kaiis with her former partner Reza Jarrahy, from whom she split in 2017, told Loose Women in 2022: ‘I had started with a therapist and I think by the second session she said has anyone told you, you have ADD.

‘I carried a huge burden of shame most of my life, I thought there was something wrong with me because I couldn’t finish or start a lot of things.

‘I found it very shameful. But when I found out there’s a reason and I’m not a bad person it was very interesting.’

Geena added on the ITV chat show she is grateful she didn’t become a mother until she was in her forties as it meant she could be more involved in their upbringing.

She said: ‘I’m really grateful that I had children in my 40s because I knew I’d be more involved. I didn’t have a lot of self-esteem but I was really determined that my children would have self-esteem.’

Geena told Good Morning Britain that Sarandon transformed her life when she was ‘dying of politeness.’

At the A League of Their Own panel on Friday, Davis looked as though she had discovered the secret to eternal youth

Wearing a chic navy top paired with dark grey trousers, the star beamed while speaking on stage during the Q&A session

Her long chestnut hair cascaded freely as she flashed her megawatt smile

She added Sarandon also showed her how to be ‘authentic’.

Geena said about meeting Susan: ‘It totally changed my life, because somehow in my sheltered life, I had never spent time with a woman who says what she thinks without qualifiers in front of it. I was used to living as somebody who says, ‘I don’t know if you agree with this or if this is a good idea’ – I was busy dying of politeness.

‘As soon as I met Susan – ‘Oh my God’ – this was a whole different world. And it wasn’t that anyone reacted differently to her. Everyone loved her and everything. ‘I was like, ‘Wow, you can actually be like that’. ‘She showed me what it’s like to live authentically and be in the moment.’

This new sighting comes years after she asked for gender equality during an impassioned speech delivered at the London Film Festival. 

The Hollywood icon was part of the third Global Symposium on Gender in Media, and the first outside the US, according to Variety.

‘Give female characters more to do, more to say, greater aspirations … give them more clothes,’ the brunette beauty said. ‘And don’t listen when people say [gender equality in Hollywood] has been fixed. We need to look to the numbers and make the sweeping changes that need to happen and make them now.’