NTSB Finds ‘Systematic Failures’ Led to DC Midair Collision: Key Takeaways

The failures included allowing helicopters to fly so close to commercial jets and ignoring NTSB recommendations for location tracking technology.

A crane offloads wreckage from a salvage vessel onto a flatbed truck in Arlington, Va., on Feb. 5, 2025, a week after a midair collision between an American Airlines jet and a Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Ben Curtis/AP Photo

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Jan. 27 revealed the probable cause of last year’s deadly midair collision over Washington’s Potomac River, citing the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) decision to place a helicopter route close to an airplane runway approach path and several other “systemic failures” at the agency.

“This was 100 percent preventable,” said NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy.