But even before the National Transportation Safety Board completes its investigation—a neurotically thorough process that will probably take about a year, and thus meshes poorly with the news cycle and the conspiracy-theorist cycle—it is easy to see some of the lines of inquiry that crash detectives will pursue.

Ryan Austin O’Hara of Lilburn, Georgia has died as well as 39-year-old Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves of Great Mills, Maryland whose remains have yet to be recovered. A third soldier’s name is currently being withheld at the request of the family.

In the three years before the deadly collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines flight near Reagan National Airport, at least two other pilots reported near-misses with helicopters while landing at the airport,