PRELIMINARY NTSB REPORT URGES IMMEDIATE ACTION FOLLOWING FATAL DCA ACCIDENT
April 1, 2025
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On March 11, 2025, the National Transportation Safety Board (“NTSB”) issued a preliminary report following the fatal midair collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (“DCA”). While NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy noted that the information provided was preliminary and subject to change, the report raised grave concerns about future midair collisions at DCA unless regulators take immediate action. For reference, between October 2021 and December 2024, NTSB determined that there were more than 15,000 near misses between commercial airplanes and helicopters at or around DCA. Like the fatal incident at issue, the preliminary report found that most close calls occurred at night with many involving helicopters flying above the restricted altitude. To mitigate the likelihood of future midair collisions at DCA, NTSB urgently recommended that the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) permanently prohibit helicopter operations near the airport and designate an alternative helicopter route that can be safely used to facilitate travel.
Following NTSB’s urgent recommendations, the FAA acted on March 14, 2025, to permanently restrict non-essential helicopter operations around DCA and eliminate helicopter and fixed-wing mixed traffic. The FAA also permanently closed the helicopter route at issue between Hains Point and the Wilson Bridge with only a narrow exception for vital missions (e.g., lifesaving medical, priority law enforcement, or Presidential transport). Moving forward, the FAA plans to assess safety risks at other airports with high volumes of mixed traffic, including but not limited to Boston, New York, the Baltimore-Washington area, Detroit, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, and Los Angeles. Charted helicopter routes at and around airports in those cities will likely be subject to increased scrutiny as the NTSB and the FAA work to reduce non-essential helicopter operations at and around high-density airports to promote safety.
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