‘Intolerable Risk’: NTSB Finds Long Pattern Of Close Calls With Helicopters At D.C.’s Reagan National Airport
by Suzanne Rowan Kelleher · ForbesTopline
Six weeks after 67 people perished in a D.C. midair collision, the NTSB’s preliminary report exposes a history of near misses between commercial jets and helicopters at the capital’s busiest airport.
Key Facts
In its preliminary report (PDF) on the midair crash between a PSA Airlines regional jet and U.S. Army helicopter that killed 67 on board both aircraft in January, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is calling for a permanent ban on helicopters near Reagan National when runways 15 and 33 are in use.
Helicopter activities around the airport “pose an intolerable risk to aviation safety,” NTSB chairperson Jennifer Homendy told reporters.
An NTSB review of close encounters between helicopters and commercial aircraft near Reagan National from 2011 through 2024 found at least one incident per month where a commercial plane received a traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) resolution advisory (RA)—an alert issued when the system detects a threat of collision—due to its proximity to a helicopter.
In over half of these instances, the helicopter “may have been above” the maximum altitude allowed, according to the report.
At the maximum altitude of 200 feet, a helicopter operating over the Potomac River would have had “just 75 feet of vertical separation from an airplane approaching runway 33,” Homendy said.
Homendy criticized the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for failing to have recognized the pattern of incidents, noting “there clearly were indicators” and “FAA could have used at any time that data … to determine that we have a trend here and a problem here.”
Key Background
The midair collision happened the night of Jan. 29, when the PSA Airlines regional jet, which had departed from Wichita, Kansas, with 64 people on board, was preparing to land at Reagan National. Three Army soldiers on the helicopter were conducting an annual training flight when the two aircraft crashed, killing all 67 people on board both aircraft. Last month, during a press conference, the NTSB indicated the Army helicopter pilots may have missed a crucial command from the air traffic controller on duty.
Big Number
15,214. That’s how many times between October 2021 and December 2024 commercial airplanes and helicopters were separated by less than 1 nautical mile (6,076.12 feet) laterally and less than 400 feet vertically. In addition, the NTSB found 85 events that involved a lateral separation of less than 1,500 feet and vertical separation of less than 200 feet.
Crucial Quote
“Aviation is incredibly safe,” Homendy said. “[Reagan National] is where I always fly out of. I say often that your biggest risk is in your personal vehicle when you're going to and from the aircraft at the airport.” She also noted that the number and position of air traffic controllers on duty in the tower the day of the crash was “not abnormal.”