[RedState] The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) held an all-day hearing Tuesday to finalize its findings on what caused last January's mid-air collision between a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and a commercial passenger jet over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport just outside of Washington, D.C.
After a nearly year-long investigation into the January 29, 2025 crash, which resulted in the deaths of 67 people, NTSB investigators determined that a number of factors, including the placement of a helicopter route so close to commercial air traffic and Army helicopter training standards, led to the tragic collision.
Before releasing its final conclusions, the board revealed some new information on the collision itself: "According to the NTSB, the helicopter contacted the left wing of the airplane with its main rotor. The helicopter was approaching from the right and the airplane was in a left turn, meaning the left wing was low. That means the two aircraft just clipped each other."
The board ultimately determined the primary probable cause to be "the FAA's placement of a helicopter route in close proximity to a runway approach path." From the hearing transcript:
The NTSB determines that the probable cause of this accident was the FAA's placement of a helicopter route in close proximity to a runway approach path. Their failure, failure to regularly review and evaluate helicopter routes and available data, and their failure to act on recommendations to mitigate the risk of a mid-air collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, as well as the air traffic system's over-reliance on visual separation. In order to promote efficient traffic flow without consideration for the limitations of the see and avoid concept.
A visibly angry NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy told the media of the panel's findings, "We should be angry, because for years no one listened. This was preventable, this was 100% preventable." |