NTSB releases final report on Potomac Midair Collision

The NTSB has released its final report on the Midair Collision that happened on Jan. 29, 2025, in Washington, DC. A Bombardier CRJ 700 acting as American Airlines Flight 5342 and a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk Army helicopter collided half a mile from the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) and crashed into the Potomac River. Both aircraft were destroyed and all 67 people on board died. Multiple factors are stated to have caused the crash.The helicopter route that the Black Hawk was on, Route 4, was placed in very close proximity to the runway 33 approach path at DCA without the needed precautions to separate helicopter and fixed-wing traffic. The NTSB claims that the FAA Air Traffic Organization (ATO) did not regularly review or reevaluate the route as required. ATC repeatedly vocalised concerns and multiple data sources show the risk was apparent. The ATC system relied heavily on pilot-applied visual separation to maintain efficient traffic flow, despite the complex environment. The ATC tower was said to have degraded performance and less situational awareness due to high workload. The NTSB found that published information about DC helicopter routes did not provide operators or controllers with a shared, complete understanding of the route limitations, and aeronautical charts for fixed-wing aircraft did not depict nearby helicopter routes that could intersect with approach and departure paths at DCA. Army pilots were found not to be properly trained on the effects of allowable error tolerances. Pilots interviewed incorrectly believed that flying at or below the published route altitudes provided the needed separation from traffic arriving and departing DCA. The helicopter crew did not effectively apply visual separation and did not receive information on Flight 5342's approach, due to degraded radio reception.RELATED STORIES:NTSB blames multiple failures, FAA lapses for deadly D.C. midair collisionU.S. Govt. admits fault in deadly airliner, army helicopter midair collision over Potomac RiverFAA updates helicopter routes for DC airports due to January midair collisionThe helicopter was also found not to be equipped with any integrated traffic awareness or collision avoidance technology. Conditions at the time of the crash would have made it difficult for either aircraft to see the other visually.The NTSB states the probable cause of the crash was the FAA's placement of helicopter routes so close to the approach path and its lack of steps taken to mitigate the risk of a collision. Other factors included: overreliance on visual separation lack of effective pilot-applied visual separation by the helicopter crew ATC degraded performance due to the high workload Army's failure to ensure pilots were trained on the effects of error tolerances The bureau has made recommendations to improve traffic management and flow at DCA, including changes to helicopter routes, and ATC scheduling.