NTSB issues preliminary report on January 29 midair collision over Potomac River.
NTSB issues urgent recommendations calling to close helicopter route near Reagan National Airport when runway 33 in use.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy says the way helicopters & planes were allowed to operate so close to each other for years led to an “intolerable risk” at Reagan National & NTSB is now making an urgent recommendation to get rid of Helicopter Route 4 over the Potomac.
NTSB says: October ’21 – December ’24 there were 944,179 “commercial operations” at National Airport. During that time, there were 15,214 “close proximity events” between commercial airplanes and helicopters.
On Jan. 29, A U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter collided over the Potomac River with an American Airlines flight that was preparing to land at Reagan National Airport.
