On Tuesday, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released the results of its investigation into the January 2025 crash of a regional airliner and an Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River. While there are all kinds of wild ideas about the cause of the crashes, the NTSB is very adamant in pointing the finger at the FAA, not the pilots of the two planes. It’s a pretty damning report, laying out a series of FAA failures that make disaster increasingly likely. In other words, this horrific accident that killed 67 people was not an accident, nor was it an unavoidable accident. This is the result of bad decisions compounded over time.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has a lot to uncover: They accuse the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of making a series of mistakes in the long, medium and near term leading up to the crash. Only one person was assigned to the air traffic control tower at Reagan National Airport to manage aircraft and helicopter traffic that night. The information became known shortly after the crash, but the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has determined that, according to new york times. Staffing levels are sufficient for aircraft and helicopters to have separate air traffic controllers responsible for them.
What did that lone ATC do? This person allowed the Black Hawk to enter a state of visual dissociation, meaning the helicopter would simply look around for other aircraft instead of following instructions from the tower. While it’s a common procedure, the National Transportation Safety Board found that Reagan National Airport had overused it for years, essentially delegating air traffic control responsibilities to pilots. Sadly, simulations showed that Black Hawk pilots were unable to see the aircraft from where they were sitting, so visual separation led to disaster. However, this was avoidable because the tower’s ATC received an automatic warning a full 26 seconds before the collision, ABC News reported. Had air traffic control communicated this warning to the pilot, the crash almost certainly could have been avoided. For whatever reason, air traffic control never did this.
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compound failure
A Black Hawk helicopter hovers over a grassy field – Fox2air/Shutterstock
If it sounds like maybe this ATC isn’t the best, there’s probably a reason for that. In 2018, the FAA downgraded Reagan National Airport’s facility rating. This lowers the minimum experience required for air traffic controllers and lowers wages for tower workers, driving away top talent.
There’s another reason Black Hawk pilots might unintentionally put themselves in danger: They don’t know how high they are. In a line that I kind of can’t believe is true, it turns out that the Blackhawk’s altimeter was wildly inaccurate, anywhere beyond 200 feet. I’m just a humble writer, but this seems to be a major design flaw on the plane. Oh, apparently this flaw is not mentioned in pilot training or helicopter manuals.
Additionally, Army protocol means the helicopter has turned off its position broadcast system (called ADS-B Out). There is currently a push in Congress to mandate that the system be on at all times, but the fate of the ROTOR Act is uncertain. But unless other aircraft also have systems for receiving that information (called ADS-B In), it simply won’t matter. Very few people install this as it is not mandatory. In this case, if both planes had the right technology and turned it on, the crash could almost certainly have been avoided. The NTSB has recommended mandating ADS-B exactly 17 times over the past 20 years, but we’ve already done so.
airspace overload
An Alaska Airlines plane lands at Burbank International Airport – Alexander Fader/Shutterstock
Over the long term, a big part of the problem is a simple fact: Air travel continues to surge over time. This means that more and more planes are in the air at the same time, and near airports they are all concentrated into a small number of landing paths. Reagan National Airport’s main runway is actually the busiest in the United States. This forced the airport to divert large amounts of traffic to the alternate runway. The landing path of this alternate runway intersects the helicopter flight path. I think you can see the problem here. This is exactly where the accident happened. If you live in Los Angeles, you’ll be pleased to know that Hollywood Burbank Airport and Van Nuys Airport are the second-worst intersections for airplane and helicopter traffic.
Implementing system-wide fixes to our national airspace will take a long time. The NTSB has enacted dozens, but adoption is not up to them. The FAA needs to agree, or Congress needs to act. In addition, financial support is also needed. Meanwhile, the FAA is making some changes to flight routes around Reagan National and Van Nuys Airports. More work needs to be done. Hopefully soon.
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