NTSB rejects FAA replies to DCA collision safety recommendations

The National Transportation Safety Board said Monday that the Federal Aviation Administration has not adequately answered safety concerns behind 11 of the 33 recommendations that came out of the January 2025 midair collision near Washington, D.C. The board called those replies unacceptable, Reuters reported.

The collision involved a PSA Airlines CRJ700 operating as American Airlines Flight 5342 and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter. All 67 people on board the two aircraft died.

One unresolved recommendation would require aircraft flying in airspace where ADS-B Out is already mandatory to also carry ADS-B In equipment that can show traffic and sound audible alerts. The NTSB concluded that ADS-B In information could have warned the airline crew about the helicopter near DCA sooner and let them act earlier.

NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said simulations showed the passenger aircraft might have received an alert 59 seconds before the impact and the helicopter crew 48 seconds before. She asked how many more decades would pass before the recommendation is adopted following repeated tragedies.

According to the NTSB, the FAA has given no indication whether it will pursue a rule requiring ADS-B In. The agency is reviewing helicopter routes in six major cities, has finished similar reviews in four others, and has issued a directive aimed at keeping airplanes and helicopters separated.

After completing its investigation of the January 29, 2025 collision, the NTSB issued 50 safety recommendations in total. In July, Homendy said all 50 should be put in place and called further delays an unacceptable risk to public safety.