The NTSB yesterday issued two urgent safety recommendations to the FAA regarding helicopter routes near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (KDCA), citing a history of close calls voluntarily reported by pilots from 2011 to 2024. The recommendations come as the agency continues its investigation of the January 29 midair collision over the Potomac River involving a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines Flight 5342 that killed all 67 aboard.

In light of the data it has examined so far, the NTSB is urgently recommending that the FAA permanently prohibit operations on helicopter Route 4 between Haynes Point and the Wilson Bridge when Runways 15 and 33 are used for departures and arrivals at KDCA, and that the FAA designate an alternative helicopter route that can be used to facilitate travel between Haynes Point and the Wilson Bridge when the segment of Route 4 is closed.

During a March 11 media briefing on the agency’s preliminary report for the accident, NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said the collision could have been prevented and alluded to the unusual step the agency was taking to issue the recommendations while its investigation was ongoing.

“Urgent recommendations require immediate action to prevent similar accidents or incidents,” Homendy stressed. “When we issue them, we believe a critical safety issue must be addressed without delay. For this investigation, we’re reviewing airport operations and prior incidents, including near-midair collision events.”

Only including facts the NTSB has verified to date, the preliminary report highlights the need for further investigation into the Black Hawk’s recorder data inconsistencies and its possible impact on altimeter readings. The report also covers crew experience, flight history, air traffic control, and emergency response.

“We still have a lot of work to do in this area, as the Black Hawk’s combined cockpit voice and flight data recorder does not record date information, time information, or helicopter position information,” said Homendy. “There is inconsistency in the data, which led us to declare the pressure altitude parameter on the Black Hawk as invalid. We’re now in the process of determining whether that may have affected other helicopter systems that used pressure altitude as a data source, such as the altimeters.”

Between October 2021 and December 2024, Homendy said there were a total of 944,179 commercial operations at KDCA and 15,214 close-proximity events between helicopters and airplanes, with 85 incidents involving less than 1,500 feet lateral and 200 feet vertical separation. Homendy praised Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy for taking quick action to restrict helicopter traffic over the Potomac River until March 31. She also commended the FAA for its response to the event.

When asked if the NTSB is also reviewing the volume of commercial flights at KDCA and ATC staffing, Homendy said, “Everything is on the table right now, as far as our investigation is concerned, and we will look at that. We’re certainly going to look at separation distances between landing and departing aircraft as part of our investigation… Right now, we are collecting facts on air traffic control. In our preliminary report today, we will mention that there were five controllers on position. There were nine there, not in the cab, but in the tower… We also know that the flight data position and the clearance delivery positions were also combined for the entire day, which is not abnormal.”

Homendy said she would characterize the accident as the result of an oversight when asked. “I mean, it’s stronger than an oversight, right? We have the data we have pulled from a voluntary safety reporting system that the FAA could have used any time. That data [is] 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.”

Homendy outlined several actions the NTSB will take as part of its ongoing investigation into the January 29 event. It will: 

• Conduct various simulations, including in the Black Hawk simulator, CRJ simulator, and ATC tower simulator, using the accident inputs and conditions.
• Conduct a comprehensive visibility study for the CRJ flight, the Black Hawk flight, and tower visibility under night conditions.
• Conduct additional interviews on helicopter operations and air traffic control.
• Continue to examine the radio altimeters, barometric altimeters, and additional electronics.

Within hours after Homendy’s presentation, industry leaders and organizations, including the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), issued statements in support of the NTSB’s efforts. Also weighing in was U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), whose letter earlier this month questioned the Department of Defense about routine operations without ADS-B Out switched on.

“The NTSB report provides ample data that this helicopter route and the commercial aviation landing route never should have been allowed to coexist,” Cantwell wrote. “The data also raises serious questions as to how such a route was allowed to continue when alarm bells were literally going off. The lack of FAA oversight of this data and warning signals has to change. Congress should work in a bipartisan fashion on legislative solutions that mandate more FAA oversight of these helicopter routes. And we should work collectively with the White House to get full implementation of the NextGen platform to give aircraft and pilots true global positioning systems through ADS-B.”

In a joint statement, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Missouri) and ranking member Rick Larsen (D-Washington), as well as aviation subcommittee chairman Troy Nehls (R-Texas) and ranking member Steve Cohen (D-Tennessee), wrote, “While this is not the final report, we want to thank the NTSB for their tireless and thorough work on this investigation, their continued efforts on behalf of the families of the victims and the flying public, and the emergency safety recommendations they are issuing at this stage of their investigation. Our committee is reviewing the report and the recommendations, and we will continue to act in a bipartisan manner to strengthen the safety of our aviation system.”

ALPA president Jason Ambrosi wrote that the organization “pledges our full support to the continued investigation and to work with government and industry stakeholders to implement the NTSB safety recommendations, including the ones issued by the board today. We will continue to work diligently to advance aviation safety and honor the legacies of those lost by ensuring such tragedies are never repeated.”

The NTSB investigation is ongoing.