Hero Pilot Captain Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger Shares Horrifying Theory on Cause of D.C. Plane Crash That Wiped Out Nearly 70 Passengers
Captain Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger had his own theories behind the cause of the D.C. plane crash.
Jan. 31 2025, Published 1:14 p.m. ET
Captain Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger, who saved 155 passengers by successfully landing a US Airways plane in the Hudson River in 2009, has his own theory on why the horrific plane crash on Wednesday night may have happened.
The 74-year-old believes a lack of lights while flying over water may have been a major reason why a Black Hawk helicopter crashed into an American Airlines plane, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Nearly 70 people lost their lives when a Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines plane.
"There would have been fewer ground lights visible over the water than over land at night," Sullenberger said in an interview with The New York Times. "This might have made it a little bit harder to see."
The retired pilot continued: "Nighttime always makes things different about seeing other aircraft – basically all you can do is see the lights on them.
"You have to try to figure out: Are they above you or below you? Or how far away? Or which direction are they headed? Everything is harder at night."
Multiple theories have been shared on what led to the tragic crash.
While the official cause of the crash has yet to be determined, Sullenberger hopes the cockpit voice recorder, as well as the inflight data recorder and air-traffic control data, will help investigators discover the reason behind the tragedy.
He said: "I'm just devastated by this. We have the obligation to learn from every failure and improve."
Sullenberger dived more into his thoughts on the crash during an appearance on Good Morning America on Thursday, where he broke down the collision which was caught on camera.
Sullenberger believes a lack of lights while flying over water led to the crash.
"It seems apparent from the air traffic control communications that the airplanes were able to see each other, at least one was able to see the other," the aviator said.
He continued: "The air traffic controller was able to relieve himself of the requirement to have him separate the airplanes, and the pilots would have to separate from each other visually by identifying the other aircraft and staying a safe distance away. Obviously at some point, separation was tragically lost."
On Wednesday, American Airlines Flight 5342, with 64 people aboard, collided with a helicopter near Reagan Washington National Airport.
Both aircraft crashed into the Potomac River, where all 67 people – including three on the Black Hawk – are presumed dead.
Many theories have followed, with some even suggesting the crash was intentional – noting how "military helicopters don't fly into planes."
Others claimed the Black Hawk seemed to "chase" the passenger plane, comparing the incident to a "1970s style assassination." Former USA soccer star Taylor Twellman also called the incident "suspicious" on Instagram, but quickly deleted the post after receiving brutal backlash.
While American Airlines CEO Robert Isom put the blame on the helicopter pilot, saying: "We don’t know why the military aircraft came into the path of the PSA aircraft."
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom blamed the chopper's pilot.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump also reacted to the tragedy, using this opportunity to blame diversity initiatives and former presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama.
The 78-year-old said from the White House: "I put safety first. Obama, Biden and the Democrats put policy first," the 78-year-old falsely said.
Trump also raged on Truth Social, calling it a "bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented."
