The National Transportation and Safety Board has concluded that the separation distances allowed between helicopter and airplane traffic on the route where an Army helicopter and a commercial passenger jet collided midair on Jan. 29 near Washington “pose an intolerable risk to aviation safety,” according to its preliminary investigation report released Tuesday.
As a result, the NTSB is recommending helicopter flights be immediately prohibited on “Route 4″ — where the fatal crash occurred — between Hains Point and the Wilson Bridge along the Potomac River when planes are landing or taking off on runways 15 and 33 at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).
The board is also recommending an alternative helicopter route between Hains Point and the Wilson Bridge when that segment of Route 4 is not open to rotary-wing traffic.
The on-scene investigation of the collision between the American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas, and a UH-60 Black Hawk over the Potomac River concluded Feb. 14
When the aircraft collided, the fuselage of the commercial jet broke apart in three places and was discovered inverted in waist-deep water in the Potomac. The helicopter wreckage was found nearby. All 64 people aboard the passenger jet and all three Army crew members aboard the Black Hawk — Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, Cpt. Rebecca M. Lobach and Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara — were killed.
Meanwhile, the investigation continues off-site in various labs and other secure locations, according to Jennifer Homendy, NTSB chair. The preliminary report lays out what happened but not how or why the crash happened, Homendy said in a briefing Tuesday.
“For this investigation, we’re reviewing airport operations and prior incidents, including near midair collision events,” Homendy said, using information from voluntary safety reporting programs and the Federal Aviation Administration.
That data shows that from 2011 through 2024, a “vast majority” of reported incidents occurred on approach to landing, and initial analysis found that at least one Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System, or TCAS, Resolution Advisory was triggered per month at DCA due to a helicopter’s proximity, Homendy said.
Unlike traffic advisories, which are issued when an intruding aircraft is about 20 seconds or 0.3 nautical miles from the closest point of approach, TCAS resolution advisories signal a collision threat and require immediate action, Homendy said.
In over half of the encounters from 2011 to 2024, the helicopter may have been flying above the route altitude restriction, which is limited to a ceiling of 200 feet above the ground, Homendy said. Two-thirds of the events happened at night.
From October 2021 through December 2024, there were 944,179 commercial operations at DCA with 15,214 “close proximity events” between commercial planes and helicopters “in which there was a lateral separation distance of less than one nautical mile and vertical separation of less than 400 feet,” Homendy said.
Of those 15,214 events, there were 85 very close calls involving lateral separations of less than 1,500 feet and less than 200 feet of vertical separation, according to Homendy.
Through evaluation of the crash, the NTSB found that the Black Hawk was not flying in the very limited area it should have been flying near DCA.
“At the maximum altitude here of just 200 feet, a helicopter operating over the eastern shoreline of the Potomac River would have just 75 feet of vertical separation from an airplane approaching runway 33,” Homendy said.
Following the accident, the U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy immediately restricted helicopter traffic from operating over the Potomac River at DCA until March 31.
“As that deadline nears, we remain concerned about the significant potential for a future midair collision at DCA, which is why we are recommending a permanent solution today,” Homendy noted.
Homendy acknowledged that fully closing Route 4 between Hains Point and the Wilson Bridge when runways 15 and 33 are in use would restrict a key aviation corridor for Coast Guard patrols, law enforcement and government operations.
However, she noted that requiring controllers to hold helicopters north or south of DCA during those times could also add to controllers’ workload and increase risk. To that end, NTSB is recommending the FAA establish an alternative helicopter route between Hains Point and the Wilson Bridge when that segment of Route 4 is closed.
Although the preliminary report is out, Homendy said her team “has a lot of work to do,” including simulations, visibility studies and additional interviews related to helicopter operations and air traffic control.
When asked in the briefing whether the NTSB would call the resulting crash an oversight, Homendy said, “I mean, it’s stronger than an oversight, right? … The data we have pulled is from a voluntary safety reporting system that FAA could have used anytime. That data from October 2021 through December 2024, they could have used that information any time to determine that we have a trend here and a problem here and looked at that route.
“That didn’t occur, which is why we’re taking action today, but unfortunately, people lost lives and loved ones are grieving.”
Jen Judson is an award-winning journalist covering land warfare for Defense News. She has also worked for Politico and Inside Defense. She holds a Master of Science degree in journalism from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kenyon College.
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