NTSB blames FAA's "deep systemic failures" for plane crash that killed 67 people

The NTSB released thousands of pages of evidence on Jan. 27, 2026, one year after the collision. The board found that an American Airlines regional jet and Army Black Hawk helicopter collided at about 300 feet over the Potomac River. All 67 people aboard both aircraft died, making it the deadliest U.S. aviation accident since 2001.

The board voted that the probable cause included the FAA placing a helicopter route in close proximity to the approach path for Reagan National Airport runway. The helicopter route allowed only 75 feet of vertical separation between helicopters and landing aircraft. Homendy said: "Nowhere in the airspace is that OK. This shouldn't have existed."

A 2013 near-collision at the identical location prompted an FAA working group to recommend removing or relocating the helicopter route. The FAA rejected those safety measures. The agency had collected reports of more than 80 serious close calls between helicopters and passenger aircraft but never acted on the data.

Investigators found a single air traffic controller was managing both airplane and helicopter traffic on the night of the collision. The controller complained about being overwhelmed earlier in the shift. The supervisor on duty had received minimal supervisory training and demonstrated poor situational awareness, at one point recalling only one helicopter when there were five or six.

Conflict alerts sounded in the control tower warning the aircraft were on a collision course. The controller received an alert when the aircraft were still 1.6 miles apart. Controllers never communicated the warning to the pilots. NTSB investigators said the collision could have been avoided if they had.

The NTSB found that air traffic controllers at Reagan relied heavily on "visual separation," counting on helicopter pilots to spot approaching aircraft and avoid them. The helicopter pilots likely never saw the airliner. Airline pilots may not have spotted the helicopter until about two seconds before impact.

The FAA was supposed to evaluate helicopter routes every year to ensure they remain safe. Homendy said the agency produced no evidence it had done so recently. A 2018 decision to downgrade the Reagan tower from a level 10 to level 9 facility meant the tower "cannot attract the experience or get the talent" needed for the complex airspace.

The board adopted 50 safety recommendations to the FAA, Army, DOD, and USDOT. These include requiring ADS-B transponder technology for all aircraft in the airspace, adjusting collision avoidance systems to alert pilots closer to the ground, and changes to the FAA's safety culture. The FAA made the helicopter route change permanent last week.