Investigators say deadly midair collision near DC followed years of ignored warnings about traffic

National Transportation Safety Board members were deeply troubled Tuesday over years of ignored warnings about helicopter traffic dangers and other problems, long before an American Airlines jet and an Army Black Hawk collided a year ago, killing 67 people near Washington, D.C.

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A helicopter route in the approach path of a Reagan National Airport runway created a dangerous airspace and irregular safety reviews made it worse, the board said. That was a key factor in the crash along with air traffic overly relying on asking helicopter pilots to avoid aircraft.

Throughout the daylong hearing, investigators emphasized the history of unaddressed risks. Those include the Federal Aviation Administration denying a regional supervisor’s 2023 request to reduce air traffic at Reagan and failures to relocate the helicopter route or warn pilots more after an eerily similar near miss in 2013.

NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy made no apology for her occasionally stern tone.

“We should be angry. This was 100% preventable. We’ve issued recommendations in the past that were applicable to use. We have talked about seeing and avoid for well over five decades. It’s shameful. I don’t want to be here years from now looking at other families that had to suffer such devastating loss.”

Families watch for accountability