WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal investigators looking into the cause of the January collision between a passenger jet and an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people recommended a ban on some helicopter flights Tuesday, saying the current setup “poses an intolerable risk.”
National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy laid out frightening statistics to underscore the danger that has existed for years near Ronald Reagan National Airport and expressed anger that it took a midair collision for it to come to light.
In just over three years, she said, there were 85 close calls when a few feet in the wrong direction could have resulted in the same kind of accident that happened on Jan. 29 when the military helicopter collided with an American Airlines jet over the Potomac River as the plane was approaching the airport.
The federal safety board determined that the existing separation distance between planes and helicopters at the airport is “insufficient and poses an intolerable risk to aviation safety,” Homendy said.
She said she was devastated for families that are grieving because they lost loved ones. Among the victims were 28 members of the figure skating community.
“It shouldn’t take tragedy to require immediate action,” she said.
Proposed changes aimed at improving safety
Under the current practice helicopters and planes can be as close as 75 feet apart from each other during landing, Homendy said. Investigators have identified 15,214 instances of planes getting alerts about helicopters being in close proximity between October 2021 and December 2024, she said.
Investigators determined that planes got alerts to take evasive action because they were too close to a helicopter at least once a month between October 2011 and December 2024, Homendy said.
Following the midair collision, the FAA took steps to restrict helicopter flights around Reagan National Airport to ensure that planes and helicopters are no longer sharing the same airspace. Now flights are put on hold temporarily when helicopters need to pass by the airport.
The NTSB’s proposal would close a vital route for law enforcement, Coast Guard patrols and government operations flights.
Homendy said the NTSB is recommending that the FAA find a “permanent solution” for alternate routes farther away from the airport for helicopter traffic.
Searching for a cause of the crash
Investigators have said the helicopter may have had inaccurate altitude readings in the moments before the crash, and the crew may not have heard key instructions from air traffic controllers. The collision likely occurred at an altitude just under 300 feet (91 meters), as the plane descended toward the helicopter, which was well above its 200-foot (61-meter) limit for that location.
The helicopter pilots may have also missed part of another communication, when the tower said the jet was turning toward a different runway, Homendy said last month.
The helicopter was on a “check” flight that night where the pilot was undergoing an annual test and a test on using night vision goggles, Homendy said. Investigators believe the crew was wearing night vision goggles throughout the flight.
The Army has said the Black Hawk crew was highly experienced, and accustomed to the crowded skies around the nation’s capital.
The NTSB in its ongoing investigation will look at the amount of traffic at Reagan and the staffing in the control tower to determine if either of those factors played a role in the collision. It will take more than a year to get the final NTSB report on the cause.
While Homendy laid out those scary statistics about near misses, she also said it’s still incredibly safe to fly, adding that she most often flies out of Reagan.
Aviation safety expert John Cox said he flew in and out of Reagan as a pilot in all different kinds of planes since the late 1970s and sometimes received collision alerts about nearby helicopters, but it was usually easy to see that the helicopter was going to pass behind the plane.
“That’s just something that occurred going in and out of there, and it worked successfully for decades,” said Cox, who is CEO of aviation safety consulting firm Safety Operating Systems in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Cox said multiple things had to go wrong for this collision to happen.
A spate of recent aviation disasters
Within just a month’s time earlier this year, there were four major aviation disasters in North America, including the midair collision over the Potomac and most recently in mid-February when a Delta flight flipped and landed on its roof at Toronto’s Pearson Airport, injuring 21 people.
Those accidents and close calls left some worried about the safety of flying even though fatal crashes are rare and the track record of U.S. airlines is remarkably sound.
President Donald Trump blamed the midair collision over Washington, D.C., on what he called an “obsolete” air traffic control system and promised to replace it. He also faulted the helicopter for flying too high.
Federal officials have been raising concerns about an overtaxed and understaffed air traffic control system for years, especially after a series of close calls between planes at U.S. airports. Among the reasons they have cited for staffing shortages are uncompetitive pay, long shifts, intensive training and mandatory retirements.
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Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio; Funk reported from Omaha, Nebraska.
