WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal investigators wanting into the reason for the January collision between a passenger jet and an Military helicopter close to Washington, D.C., that killed 67 folks really useful a ban on some helicopter flights Tuesday, saying the present setup “poses an intolerable risk.”
Nationwide Transportation Security Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy laid out scary statistics to underscore the hazard that has existed for years close to Ronald Reagan Nationwide Airport and expressed anger that it took a midair collision for it to return to gentle.
In simply over three years, she stated, there have been 85 shut calls when a couple of toes within the flawed course might have resulted in the identical sort of accident that occurred on Jan. 29 when the army helicopter collided with an American Airways jet over the Potomac River because the aircraft was approaching the airport.
The federal security board decided that the present separation distance between planes and helicopters on the airport is “insufficient and poses an intolerable risk to aviation safety,” Homendy stated.
She stated she was devastated for households which might be grieving as a result of they misplaced family members. Among the many victims have been 28 members of the determine skating neighborhood.
“It shouldn’t take tragedy to require immediate action,” she stated.
Proposed modifications geared toward enhancing security
Beneath the present observe helicopters and planes might be as shut as 75 toes other than one another throughout touchdown, Homendy stated. Investigators have recognized 15,214 situations of planes getting alerts about helicopters being in shut proximity between October 2021 and December 2024, she stated.
Investigators decided that planes bought alerts to take evasive motion as a result of they have been too near a helicopter no less than as soon as a month between October 2011 and December 2024, Homendy stated.
The NTSB’s proposal would shut a significant route for regulation enforcement, Coast Guard patrols and authorities operations flights.
Homendy stated the NTSB is recommending that the FAA discover a “permanent solution” for alternate routes farther away from the airport for helicopter visitors.
Looking for a explanation for the crash
Investigators have stated the helicopter might have had inaccurate altitude readings within the moments earlier than the crash, and the crew might not have heard key directions from air visitors controllers. The collision probably occurred at an altitude just below 300 toes (91 meters), because the aircraft descended towards the helicopter, which was properly above its 200-foot (61-meter) restrict for that location.
The helicopter pilots might have additionally missed a part of one other communication, when the tower stated the jet was turning towards a distinct runway, Homendy stated final month.
The helicopter was on a “check” flight that evening the place the pilot was present process an annual check and a check on utilizing evening imaginative and prescient goggles, Homendy stated. Investigators imagine the crew was carrying evening imaginative and prescient goggles all through the flight.
The Military has stated the Black Hawk crew was extremely skilled, and accustomed to the crowded skies across the nation’s capital.
The NTSB in its ongoing investigation will take a look at the quantity of visitors at Reagan and the staffing within the management tower to find out if both of these components performed a task within the collision. It is going to take greater than a yr to get the ultimate NTSB report on the trigger.
Whereas Homendy laid out these scary statistics about close to misses, she additionally stated it’s nonetheless extremely protected to fly, including that she most frequently flies out of Reagan.
Aviation security knowledgeable John Cox stated he flew out and in of Reagan as a pilot in all completely different sorts of planes because the late Seventies and typically obtained collision alerts about close by helicopters, however it was often straightforward to see that the helicopter was going to cross behind the aircraft.
“That’s just something that occurred going in and out of there, and it worked successfully for decades,” stated Cox, who’s CEO of aviation security consulting agency Security Working Techniques in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Cox stated a number of issues needed to go flawed for this collision to occur.
A spate of current aviation disasters
Inside only a month’s time earlier this yr, there have been 4 main aviation disasters in North America, together with the midair collision over the Potomac and most not too long ago in mid-February when a Delta flight flipped and landed on its roof at Toronto’s Pearson Airport, injuring 21 folks.
These accidents and shut calls left some fearful concerning the security of flying despite the fact that deadly crashes are uncommon and the observe report of U.S. airways is remarkably sound.
President Donald Trump blamed the midair collision over Washington, D.C., on what he known as an “obsolete” air visitors management system and promised to switch it. He additionally faulted the helicopter for flying too excessive.
Federal officers have been elevating considerations about an overtaxed and understaffed air visitors management system for years, particularly after a sequence of shut calls between planes at U.S. airports. Among the many causes they’ve cited for staffing shortages are uncompetitive pay, lengthy shifts, intensive coaching and obligatory retirements.