WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — Family members of the victims killed in the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) crash are speaking out after a Senate Subcommittee hearing Thursday.
Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and U.S. Army addressed the committee with details on the preliminary investigation.
Families say they were shocked to learn about what they call “systematic failures” that led to the crash. They are calling for major safety changes to prevent this from happening again.
The heartbroken father of Sam Lilley, a pilot killed in the DCA crash, says he and other families are working to turn their grief into purpose.
“The hardest day of my life was the 29th, the second hardest day was the day after that when the NTSB told us about our loved ones spread across the ice,” said Lilley. “My son’s legacy is to get some things done to make sure that this doesn’t happen again,”
Family members say they were shocked to learn the NTSB identified 85 close calls around DCA in the three years before the crash.
“Wow, really, you know, I guess disbelief that you know it’s going on but it is,” said Dailey Crafton, brother of DCA crash victim Casey Crafton. “I’m glad that something is being done about it now, but it’s too little too late for those of us who had family members on that plane.”
Senators questioned officials on safety policies, including an exemption for some Army helicopters from its use of the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast or “ADS-B” technology that transmits location and other data.
“If you had ADS-B out that is transmitting for the helicopter crew—it would not have made a difference,” said NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy. “It may have made [a] difference for ATC, air traffic control, and may have made a difference certainly for the CRJ crew if they had ADSB in. That is something we’ll look at as part of the investigation.”
The FAA announced the changes since the crash, including restricting helicopter traffic at DCA.
But these families are calling on Congress to implement proven safety technologies, mandate clear communication protocols, and hold agencies accountable to act.
The NTSB Chair says she expects the full investigation to be complete by one year.
The FAA says it also investigating similar risks at airports in other cities with heavy helicopter traffic.
