Washington DC plane crash: 7 mid-air coalitions that rattled aviation industry

At least 30 bodies were recovered after an American Airlines plane collided with a military chopper and crashed into the Potomac River in Washington, DC. The jet was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members. Meanwhile, the Black Hawk helicopter had three soldiers onboard. The incident marked the deadliest plane crash in the United States in 2025.

However, there have been several plane crashes in the past. While some of them taught harsh lessons, others brought significant changes in aviation regulation. The mid-air coalition is always seen as fatal owing to the relatively high velocities of the aircraft involved.

Notable mid-air coalition

Here’s a look at some of the notable mid-air coalition:

1.  The first mid-air coalition occurred at the “Milano Circuito Aereo Internazionale” meeting held in 1910 in Milan, Italy. The incident took place on October 3, when Rene Thomas of France in an Antoinette monoplane collided with Captain Bertram Dickson of the British army in a Farman biplane by ramming him in the rear. While both the pilots survived Dickson was badly injured and he never flew again.

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2. A fatal coalition took place in Douai, France, on June 19th, 1912, when Captain Marcel Dubois and Lieutenant Albert Peignan of the French Army crashed into one another, killing both pilots.

3. Interestingly, the FAA was created by the Federal Aviation Act of 1958, which was introduced to the US Congress after the coalition between United Airlines Flight 736 and a fighter jet. The crash killed 49 people. Another US military/civilian aircraft crash occurred one month later, which led to the death of 12 people.

4. One of the deadliest incidents was the Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision, which occurred near New Delhi. 349 people were killed in what was seen as the deadliest mid-air coalition in history. The aircraft involved in the coalition were Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747-100B and Kazakhstan Airlines Ilyushin Il-76.

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5. The coalition of Trans World Airlines Flight 2 and United Airlines Flight 718 on June 30th, 1956 also rattled the world of aviation, resulting in 128 deaths. It was the first aircraft coalition where the death toll hit the 100 mark.

6. Another incident happened on September 25th, 1978, when a Pacific Southwest Airlines flight carrying 135 passengers collided with a Cessna 172 while descending over San Diego, California. Seven people who were on the ground also died in the incident.

7. On March 27, 1968, a Cessna 150F crashed due to a mid-air collision at Lambert Field. The two planes were conducting their final approach to land when they collided in mid-air. Despite the fatal crash, all 49 passengers and crew members on the Ozark Airlines flight were safely landed. Meanwhile, the two pilots in the Cessna 150 tragically lost their lives in the collision.