Passenger plane forced to abort landing at DC airport the day before deadly plane crash

Just one day before the deadly crash between an American Airlines flight and Black Hawk near the nation’s capital on Wednesday evening, a passenger jet had to abort its initial landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after another military chopper appeared in its flight path, airline officials and radar data confirmed.

FlightAware, a site that tracks flight paths, shows Republic Airways Flight 4514 − bound for the same airport − departed from Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, on Thursday at 6:50 p.m. EST.

The town is in Hartford County, just under 15 miles north of the state's capitol.

Upon its first approach, about 8 p.m. EST, the airplane can be seen on radar diverting from its scheduled course, then turning west, circling, and landing during a second attempt to land at National Airport.

The crew "initiated a go-around at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in response to an onboard alert that a military helicopter was nearby," a Federal Aviation Administration told USA TODAY on Friday.

"Air traffic controllers issued traffic advisories to both aircraft and the military helicopter crew reported they had the Republic aircraft in sight," an FAA spokesperson said. "There was no loss of required separation between the aircraft."

According to an audio recording from air traffic control, the passenger airliner had to make a second approach "after a helicopter appeared near its flight path," Republic Airways Corporate Communication spokesperson Jon Austin confirmed on Friday.

The Washington Post first reported the incident.

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The mishap came one day before AA Flight 5342 −carrying 60 passengers and four crewmembers − collided with a Black Hawk trying to land at Reagan National Airport. The helicopter had three people on board.

All are feared dead, officials said Thursday.

'He died doing what he absolutely loved'Flight attendant death confirmed in crash

The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, which confirmed Thursday that divers had recovered black boxes from the passenger plane.

During a news conference, NTSB member Todd Inman said the military helicopter was also equipped "with some form of recording."

"We feel comfortable and confident" the chopper boxes would be recovered, Inman told reporters Thursday afternoon.

Whom does the helicopter belong to?

The chopper was a military helicopter, according to the FAA.

The plane reached an altitude of about 1,600 feet during its first descent, FlightAware shows.

At the same time, the airline's spokesperson confirmed audio and flight-tracking data showed the helicopter flew about 300 feet from the ground.

According to audio from LiveATC.net, while approaching runway 19, air traffic control warned the jet about a nearby helicopter.

Republic Airways Flight 4514's landing delayed by less than 10 minutes

FlightAware's log shows the incident caused the flight's landing to be delayed just under 10 minutes.

The plane arrived at the gate at 8:16 p.m., according to the online site.

No injuries were reported.