NTSB Probable Cause Cites FAA Lapses in DCA Collision

During yesterday’s NTSB hearing on the Jan. 29, 2025 midair collision of a U.S. Army Sikorsky UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter and a PSA Airlines CRJ700 about a half mile southeast of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (KDCA), the board released its probable cause for the accident.

“We determined that the probable cause of this accident was the FAA’s placement of a helicopter route in close proximity to a runway approach path; their failure to regularly review and evaluate helicopter routes and available data; and their failure to act on recommendations to mitigate the risk of a midair collision near [KDCA], as well as the air traffic system’s overreliance on visual separation in order to promote efficient traffic flow without consideration for the limitations of the see-and-avoid concept.”

The NTSB issued 50 safety recommendations, calling for “comprehensive reforms to helicopter route design, air traffic control procedures, safety management systems, data sharing, and collision avoidance technology.” These include 33 to the FAA, eight to the U.S. Army, and others for the Department of Transportation, the Department of War Policy Board on Federal Aviation, and the RTCA.

“This complex and comprehensive one-year investigation identified serious and long-standing safety gaps in the airspace over our nation’s capital,” said NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy. “Sadly, the conditions for this tragedy were in place long before the night of January 29.”