The plane had been cleared to land on Reagan National Airport’s main runway. But in the final moments of the flight, air traffic control asked the pilot to land on a separate, intersecting runway.

U.S. commercial pilot Rick Redfern was preparing to land at Reagan Washington National Airport a decade ago when he spotted a Coast Guard helicopter hovering about 50 feet off the Potomac River. Air traffic control promptly warned the helicopter pilot to stay clear,

Flight data showed the plane coming from New Orleans looping around Reagan before heading to Baltimore moments after the collision. To jet was rerouted to Baltimore before 8:10 p.m. and landed at about 8:15 p.m., according to FlightAware .