NTSB urges ban on some helicopter flights at Washington airport where 67 people died

WASHINGTON | Federal investigators looking for 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 to improve safety, saying the current setup “poses an intolerable risk.”

A military helicopter collided with the American Airlines jet as it was approaching Ronald Reagan National Airport over the Potomac River on Jan. 29. Among the victims were 28 members of the figure skating community.

National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said the board determined that the existing separation distance between planes and helicopters at Reagan National Airport is “insufficient and poses an intolerable risk to aviation safety.”

Homendy said she was angry and also devastated for families that are grieving because they lost loved ones.

“It shouldn’t take tragedy to require immediate action,” she said.

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.

Following the crash, 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.

Homendy said the NTSB is recommending that the FAA find a “permanent solution” for alternate routes for helicopter traffic when two of the airport’s runways are in use.

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.

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.

Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio; Funk reported from Omaha, Nebraska.