The National Transportation Security Board on Tuesday requested immediate changes at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, saying that current helicopter routes around the occupied airport “represent an intolerable risk for aviation security.”
President Jennifer Homendy said the NTSB recommends that the Federal Aviation Administration permanently prohibit helicopter operations near Reagan when tracks 15 and 33 are in use and designate an alternative route for pilots.
The Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy has “restricted the traffic of operating helicopters on the Potomac River in DCA until March 31,” Homandy said at a press conference. “And I want to congratulate him for that and recommend FAA’s work also take quick measures.”
He added: “As that deadline approaches, we are still concerned about the significant potential for the future collision in the air in DCA.”
The Coast Guard investigates the remains of the airplanes on the Potomac River, on January 30, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Petty First Class Brandon Giles/ Coast Guard of the United States through Getty Images
Homendy described a story of calls close to Reagan and said that the NTSB continues to investigate the devastating accident between an American Airlines plane and a Black Hawk helicopter from the US army. Uu. Which killed the 67 people aboard both planes.
The accident occurred on the night of January 29 when the regional plane Bombardier Crj700 Bombardier Crj700 of PSA, which had left Wichita, Kansas, with 64 people on board, was about to land in Reagan (DCA). The three soldiers in the helicopter were carrying out an annual training flight and check of night vision glasses at the time of collision.
Between October 2021 and December 2024, there were 944,179 commercial operations in Reagan, said Homandy. During that time, there were 15,214 proximity events between commercial and helicopter aircraft, he said.
The meetings between helicopters and commercial planes near Reagan show that, from 2011 to 2024, the vast majority of the reported events occurred when approaching landing, he said.
The emergency response units evaluate the remains of the airplanes on the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington airport, on January 30, 2025 in Arlington, VA.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
The helicopters in “The Helicopter corridor of Route 4 to the maximum authorized altitude of 200 feet could have only about 75 feet of vertical separation of a plane in the landing approach on track 33,” said the NTSB in a statement. “The vertical separation could be even less than 75 feet depending on the lateral distance of the helicopter from the Potomac river coast or if a plane that was approaching was below the visual glideph designated to track 33”.
Homendy said 75 feet is an “intolerable risk for aviation security.”
“It angry. But it also makes me feel incredibly devastating for families that are afflicted,” he said.
A crane raises a piece of the 5342 flight of American Airlines of the Potomac River during recovery efforts on February 3, 2025 in Arlington, Va.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
Homendy said that last month there were no indications that the helicopter crew was aware of the imminent situation.
The soldiers may have had “bad data” at the altitude of their altimeter, since the pilots had different altitudes in the seconds before the accident, said Homandy. A helicopter pilot thought they were 400 feet and the other thought they were 300 feet, he said.
The crew may not have heard the transmission from the tower that instructed the helicopter behind the plane because the pilot could have full its radio in the same second and the ATC transmission had passed, the NTSB added.
Black Hawk team probably wore night vision glasses during the entire flight, Homandy said.
