File Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo
March 11 (UPI) — Current airport flight safety practices create an “intolerable safety risk” that could be eliminated by changing allowed separation distances between helicopters and airplanes, federal officials say.
Insufficient lateral distance regulations and the route used by a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter created a safety risk that contributed to the deadly midair collision that killed 67 near Ronald Reagan Washington [D.C.] National Airport on Jan. 29, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy told media on Tuesday.
“The existing separation distances are insufficient and pose an intolerable risk to aviation safety,” Homendy said. “There’s a safety risk here and they [FAA] need to take immediate action.”
Homendy outlined two actions for the FAA to immediately impose at all airports.
One is to impose lateral boundaries between airplanes and helicopters for helicopter routes that are near airports and require automated warnings to prevent collisions.
The other recommendation is to change the standard route used by the helicopter between Hains Point, Md., and the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge over the Potomac River near the Washington, D.C., airport or order the helicopter to hold in place whenever a plane is using runways 15 or 33.
NTSB investigators studied airport data regarding near-misses between airplanes and helicopters from 2011 through 2024 and determined the “vast majority” occurred while a plane was attempting to land at the airport, Homendy said.
Additional data from October 2021 through December show 15,214 “occurrences” between planes and helicopters at the Washington, D.C., airport among 944,179 commercial flights, she said.
Those occurrences are defined by instances in which airplanes and helicopters were within 1 nautical mile of each other and separated by less than 400 feet in vertical distance.
Homendy said the airport recorded at least one close call every month, including 85 instances where airplanes and helicopters were separated by less than 1,500 feet laterally and less than 200 feet vertically.
The danger posed to air travel exists at virtually every airport and not just the Washington, D.C., airport, which prompted the NTSB to urge the FAA to immediately adopt the two safety recommendations.
“It’s an intolerable risk to aviation safety. We have called on the DOT and FAA to take action,” Homendy said.
“It shouldn’t take a tragedy like this to occur,” she added. “Clearly, one did.”
Homendy said the NTSB is continuing to investigate the probable cause of the deadly midair collision between American Airlines Flight 5342 and the U.S Army helicopter.
The crash occurred when an American Airlines-owned PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet carrying 64 passengers and crew and a U.S. Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter carrying three crew members collided over the Potomac River at 8:47 p.m. EST on Jan. 29.
The airliner was attempting to land on Runway 33 after its earlier departure from Wichita, Kan.
Homendy said the standard route used by the helicopter’s crew during a nighttime training mission only provided 75 feet of vertical distance between the two aircraft, which she said it too close.
“There’s a serious safety issue here,” Homendy said, adding that the FAA needs to take “immediate action” to eliminate that risk at the Washington, D.C., airport and all others.
Homendy said the data has been in place for some time prior to the deadly collision and should have been reviewed to identify the danger and corrective action taken to prevent it.
“It’s stronger than an oversight,” Homendy said in response to a reporter’s question. “They could have used that data at any time. That didn’t occur.”
NTSB officials also have suggested the helicopter crew received bad altimeter data that indicated 400 feet for one pilot and 300 feet for the other.
All bodies and both aircraft were recovered from the river, and the NTSB transported the salvaged pieces of aircraft to an undisclosed location for further examination.