(NewsNation) — The National Transportation Safety Board is still in a “fact-finding phase” regarding the deadly midair collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines aircraft near Washington, D.C.
Sixty-seven people were killed on Jan. 29 when the aircraft collided over the Potomac River.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy addressed the media, noting that it is a process to gather the requisite details. A preliminary report was issued on Tuesday but did not include “probable cause” of the accident.
“I often say that the easiest and quickest part of the investigation is determining what happened. The part that takes longer is the how and why,” Homendy said.
The NTSB is, however, making “urgent safety recommendations,” per Homendy, regarding helicopter routes near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
“Urgent recommendations require immediate action to prevent similar accidents or incidents when we issue them,” Homendy said. “We believe a critical safety issue must be addressed without delay.”
The recommendation itself reads: “Prohibit operations on helicopter Route 4 between Hains Point and the Wilson Bridge when runways 15 and 33 are being used for departures and arrivals, respectively, at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.”
NTSB investigators said there have been 15,214 “near-miss events” at DCA from Oct. 2021 to Dec. 2024.
Without a change in helicopter routes, Homendy and NTSB “remain concerned about the significant potential for future mid-air collision at DCA,” she said.
Investigators previously said the helicopter may have had inaccurate altitude readings in the moments before the crash and that the crew may not have heard key instructions from air traffic controllers.
Some have suggested a lack of air traffic control staffing could have played a role in the crash, but Homendy did not confirm nor deny on Tuesday.
“That is part of our investigation and is part of the analysis phase of our investigation. Right now, we are collecting facts on air traffic control. In our preliminary report today, we will mention that there were five controllers on position.”
The collision was the deadliest plane crash in the United States since 2001, when a jet slammed into a New York City neighborhood just after takeoff, killing all 260 people on board and five more on the ground.
