National Transport Safety Committee (NTSB) on Tuesday recommended to close a helicopter route Near the National Airport Ronald Reagan Washington, when some of his runways used after January collishes in peace that killed dozens of people when the plane collided with the Black Hawk Army helicopter.
The Chairman of the NTSB Committee Jennifer Homendy called the Route 4 helicopter and the final approach to the DCA Runway 33 “unbearable risk of aviation security by increasing the chance of a MID collision.”
NTSB Chairman Jennifer Homendy on Tuesday updated an investigation into the deadly collision of Midair DC aircraft that took place across the Potomac River on January 29, 2025. (Fox News/Pool)
Homendy said that current helicopters and planes can be close to 75 feet during landing. Between October 2021 and December 2024, 15,214 aircraft instances were identified about helicopters warnings in the immediate vicinity, investigators said.
January 29, US Avio -Company Flight 5342, carrying 60 passengers and four crew members, approaching Reagan Airport from Wichita, Kansas, as a military helicopter Black Hawk Three soldiers On board he practiced routes for an emergency evacuation. The aircraft collided over the Potomac River, killing everything on board.
In his recommendations, NTSB said he identified the risk of collision to a medium extent between helicopters and airline traffic using runways 15 and 33 at the airport.
The wreck is seen in Rijeka Potomac near the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on January 30, 2025. The National Transport Safety Committee recommended the closure of a helicopter route near the airport when one of its runways was used. .
The agency recommended that the prohibited helicopters on the Ruta 4 helicopter between Hains Point and Wilson Bridge be used when they use runways 15 and 33 and indicate an alternative route of helicopters when Ruta 4 is closed.
Black Hawk They may have had incorrect readings of above sea levels in the moments before the collision, investigators said.
The collision probably occurred at an altitude of nearly 300 feet as the plane descended toward the helicopter, which was significantly above its 200 feet for that place, Associated Press reported.
The FBI agent carries debris the day after the US Eagle Flight 5342 collided with Black Hawk helicopter and crashed into the Potomac River on the night of January 29, 2025. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
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The army announced that the Black Hawk crew was very experienced and used to the crowded sky around the capital of the state.
