The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) during a public board meeting on Tuesday adopted a probable cause and approved 48 new safety recommendations stemming from its investigation into the Jan. 29, 2025, midair collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) involving a PSA Airlines CRJ700 and a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. The accident, which occurred over the Potomac River, killed all 67 people aboard both aircraft.
Probable Cause Centers on Systemic Issues
The board concluded the crash resulted primarily from the placement of a helicopter route in close proximity to a runway approach path without procedural mitigations, combined with failures by multiple organizations to identify and address known risks.
As adopted, the board found the probable cause 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 Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.”
The board also cited “the air traffic system’s over-reliance on visual separation in order to promote efficient traffic flow without consideration for the limitations of the ‘see and avoid’ concept,” along with degraded controller performance due to high workload and combined control positions.
Additional causal factors included the Army’s failure to ensure pilots were aware of barometric altimeter tolerances, which resulted in the helicopter flying above the published route altitude.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said the investigation reinforced long-standing concerns about relying on visual acquisition alone.
“What we refer to as human error is, in reality, the last event in the causal chain immediately preceding a crash,” Homendy said during the meeting, adding that such errors are “a consequence, not a cause.”
Broad Set of Recommendations Approved
The board approved a sweeping set of recommendations aimed at the FAA, the U.S. Army, the Department of Transportation, the Department of War, and industry groups. Of the 48 new recommendations, 32 were directed to the FAA, including changes to helicopter route design, controller training, conflict alert systems, staffing practices, and airport arrival-rate management at DCA.
Among the actions adopted were requirements to reassess helicopter routes near DCA, to integrate helicopter route information into approach procedures, to enhance controller training on visual separation, and to implement time-based flow management to reduce traffic surges.
The board also approved recommendations calling for expanded use and improved performance of airborne collision avoidance systems and ADS-B equipage across both civil and military aircraft.
Homendy emphasized the urgency of implementation.
“This was 100% preventable,” Homendy said. “We’ve issued recommendations in the past that were applicable here. We have talked about see and avoid for well over five decades.”
Next Steps
The board adopted the final report Tuesday evening, pending technical revisions, and indicated that several members intend to file concurring statements. An executive summary of the findings and recommendations is expected to be released by the NTSB following the meeting, with the full final report to be published in the coming weeks.
Homendy said the board would continue to press for action.
“This is just the first step,” Homendy said. “We must relentlessly and vigorously pursue safety change to ensure this never happens again.”
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