2:36In this January 30, 2025, file photo, emergency teams respond to aircraft debris in the Potomac River close to Ronald Reagan Washington Airport in Arlington, Virginia.Andrew Harnik/Getty Images, FILE
The chair of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) criticized the Federal Aviation Administration for failing to "take responsibility" in the fatal Black Hawk helicopter crash involving a passenger plane near Washington Reagan National Airport in January.
During a hearing on Wednesday that is scheduled to continue this week, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy claimed that certain FAA tower personnel were aware there "was a problem" with U.S. Army helicopters operating in close proximity to commercial aircraft near the airport.
Sixty-seven individuals lost their lives on January 29 after a regional American Airlines aircraft collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter above Washington, D.C., according to officials, marking the first significant commercial airline disaster in the U.S. since 2009.
The Army helicopter was conducting a training flight at the moment of the crash.
National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy and members Michael Graham and J. Todd Inman attend a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigative hearing on the January 29 mid-air collision of an Army Sikorsky UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines flight 5342 over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, at NTSB headquarters in Washington, D.C., July 30, 2025.Umit Bektas/Reuters
“All indications were present that there was a safety threat and the tower was alerting you that,” Homendy remarked regarding the air traffic controllers on duty at Reagan National Airport (DCA) during the incident.
"However, you know what the FAA did after the incident? They reassigned the air traffic manager and two assistant general managers,” Homendy added. “You shifted personnel instead of accepting responsibility for the fact that everyone in the FAA tower was indicating there was a significant issue."
Homendy, who referenced FAA surveillance information, stated there were more than 15,000 instances of close encounters between helicopters and commercial flights at DCA from October 2021 to December 2024.
Some reports cautioned that the airspace was "an accident waiting to happen," with others outlining situations that were eerily similar to what transpired in January.
“Why did it take the loss of 67 lives and families forever devastated to comprehend what was happening, to recognize that you had helicopters operating beneath civilian aircraft, while individuals in the tower were attempting to communicate that there was a problem and were disregarded?” Homendy expressed to reporters in a press gathering following the hearing.
A victim’s relative wears an image on her neck during a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigative hearing on the January 29 mid-air collision of an Army Sikorsky UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines flight 5342 over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, at NTSB headquarters in Washington, D.C., July 30, 2025.Umit Bektas/Reuters
During the hearing, FAA representatives cited "bureaucratic processes" as a hindrance to resolving these matters.
"Are you serious? 67 people are deceased,” Homendy exclaimed.
“How is that justifiable? Our bureaucratic processes? We actually calculated how many steps are required to transition from the tower to headquarters to identify issues, and we explored various scenarios; it takes twenty-one steps to enact a policy change! Rectify it, improve,” Homendy stated.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
