NTSB blames ‘deep’ systemic failures for DCA midair collision : NPR

[ad_1] <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5573x3715+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ffc%2F41%2F4b03683442088af3a631f44c2199%2Fgettyimages-2258535228.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5573x3715+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ffc%2F41%2F4b03683442088af3a631f44c2199%2Fgettyimages-2258535228.jpg" class="img" alt="National Transportation Safety Board chairwoman Jennifer Homendy briefs reporters on Tuesday in Washington, D.C. The NTSB released its investigative findings into the January 2025 midair collision of an American Airlines regional jet and U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The collision killed all 67 aboard both aircraft." fetchpriority="high"/> Nationwide Transportation Security Board chairwoman Jennifer Homendy briefs reporters on Tuesday in Washington, D.C. The NTSB launched its investigative findings into the January 2025 midair collision of an American Airways regional jet and U.S. Military Black Hawk helicopter close to Ronald Reagan Washington Nationwide Airport. The collision killed all 67 aboard each plane. Alex Wong/Getty Pictures cover caption

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Alex Wong/Getty Pictures WASHINGTON — After a yearlong investigation, the Nationwide Transportation Security Board blamed a number of systemwide failures for the midair collision of an Military Black Hawk helicopter and American Airways regional jet that killed 67 individuals.

"Deep, underlying systemic failures — system flaws — aligned to create the circumstances that led to the devastating tragedy," mentioned NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy in her opening remarks.

Investigators laid out their findings in a gathering on the NTSB's headquarters, compiling an extended record of things that doubtless contributed to the deadliest U.S. aviation catastrophe in a long time.

The board didn't establish a single trigger for the collision on January twenty ninth, 2025. As a substitute, investigators positioned the blame on a number of overlapping issues — together with the placement of a helicopter route in a number of the nation's most congested airspace, together with essential tools failures and human errors.

Investigators recognized an instrument failure within the Military helicopter, which doubtless made the pilots assume they had been flying 100 toes decrease than they had been. The NTSB report additionally described a chaotic state of affairs within the air visitors management tower, and incomplete communications between the native controller and the helicopter pilots.

However the chair of the NTSB reserved her harshest criticism for regulators on the Federal Aviation Administration.

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4760x3173+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc5%2Fd0%2Ffb5e364743b2a0b502e71c2c0951%2Fgettyimages-2196927019.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4760x3173+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc5%2Fd0%2Ffb5e364743b2a0b502e71c2c0951%2Fgettyimages-2196927019.jpg" class="img" alt="A crane removes airplane wreckage from the Potomac River, where American Airlines flight 5342 collided with a U.S. Army helicopter, near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, on February 3, 2025. The collision killed 67 people and was the deadliest U.S. aviation accident since 2001." loading="lazy"/> A crane removes airplane wreckage from the Potomac River, the place American Airways flight 5342 collided with a U.S. Military helicopter, close to Ronald Reagan Washington Nationwide Airport, on February 3, 2025. The collision killed 67 individuals and was the deadliest U.S. aviation accident since 2001. Roberto Schmidt/AFP through Getty Pictures cover caption

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Roberto Schmidt/AFP through Getty Pictures "It is one failure after one other," Homendy advised reporters throughout a break. The FAA had collected stories of greater than 80 critical shut calls lately between helicopters and passenger plane, Homendy says, however the NTSB was the primary to attract consideration to these conflicts.

"The info was there. The info was in their very own methods," Homendy mentioned.

The FAA was additionally supposed to judge helicopter routes yearly to make sure that they're nonetheless protected, based on Homendy, however she mentioned the company produced no proof that it had carried out so just lately.

Investigators say air visitors controllers on the native tower at Ronald Reagan Washington Nationwide Airport had repeatedly raised considerations to the FAA a few lack of satisfactory separation between helicopter visitors alongside the Potomac River and the strategy to Runway 33, the place American Airways Flight 5342 was trying to land. However the FAA didn't act on these considerations, based on the NTSB.

"What which means is 75 toes, at greatest, separating a helicopter and civilian plane. Nowhere within the airspace is that okay," Homendy mentioned. "This should not have existed."

NTSB investigators say a single controller was managing native air and helicopter visitors on the night time of the collision. That controller ought to have issued a security alert within the moments earlier than the helicopter and regional jet approached one another, the NTSB mentioned. The board additionally discovered that the supervisor on responsibility ought to have separated the helicopter and touchdown tasks after the controller complained about being overwhelmed earlier within the shift.

However investigators say the issues with air visitors management on the airport started lengthy earlier than the actions of that single controller.

The NTSB investigation discovered that air visitors controllers at DCA relied closely on "visible separation," relying on helicopter pilots to see approaching plane touchdown on the airport and keep away from them.

On the night time of the collision, the Military Black Hawk helicopter was on a coaching mission utilizing night-vision goggles. The air visitors controller on responsibility requested the helicopter pilots to go behind the approaching American Airways jet. The helicopter's teacher pilot indicated that they noticed the aircraft and requested "visible separation," which the controller accepted.

However the NTSB's evaluation concluded that the helicopter pilots doubtless by no means noticed the approaching aircraft earlier than the collision.

An NTSB simulation of the helicopter's perspective exhibits that the pilots had restricted visibility by way of the night-vision goggles. Investigators consider the helicopter pilots mistakenly thought the American Airways jet was one in every of a number of different planes lining as much as land on Runway 1, and didn't have an correct understanding of its flight path.

The NTSB members voted to approve almost 50 new suggestions, together with a number of concerning the superior expertise generally known as ADS-B, which may transmit an plane's location.

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5870x4000+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F46%2F44%2F0ec281b04566b259683a1c05d8a7%2Fgettyimages-2258535669.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5870x4000+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F46%2F44%2F0ec281b04566b259683a1c05d8a7%2Fgettyimages-2258535669.jpg" class="img" alt="A poster showing the paths of the U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines regional jet is displayed at the National Transportation Safety Board meeting. The board was meeting to issue its safety recommendations on the DCA midair collision." loading="lazy"/> A poster exhibiting the paths of the U.S. Military Black Hawk helicopter and American Airways regional jet is displayed on the Nationwide Transportation Security Board assembly. The board was assembly to situation its security suggestions on the DCA midair collision. Alex Wong/Getty Pictures cover caption

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Alex Wong/Getty Pictures The Military helicopter was geared up with an ADS-B transponder, the NTSB mentioned, though it was not engaged on the night time of the collision. However the NTSB additionally discovered {that a} working ADS-B transponder wouldn't have prevented the crash, because the passenger jet was solely geared up to ship ADS-B alerts out, to not obtain them.

The NTSB advisable that any plane working in airspace the place it is presently required to make use of ADS-B out expertise also needs to be required to make use of ADS-B in.

Board members discovered that communications between the air visitors management tower and the helicopter had been hindered by technical difficulties.

Lower than two minutes earlier than the collision, the airport management tower issued a name to the crew of the Black Hawk helicopter that the aircraft was "at 1,200 toes circling to runway 33." However the NTSB believes the phrase "circling" was inaudible, probably contributing to the pilots' confusion.

In an announcement to NPR, the FAA mentioned it "values and appreciates the NTSB's experience and enter." The company went on to say, "We now have labored side-by-side with the NTSB all through this accident investigation and acted instantly to implement pressing security suggestions it issued in March 2025. We are going to fastidiously take into account the extra suggestions the NTSB made as we speak."