What NTSB hearings revealed about the Washington mid-air collision that killed 67
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
What NTSB hearings revealed about the Washington mid-air collision that killed 67
Miles O’Brien: This was a very contentious NTSB hearing. That normally doesn’t occur that way. A lot of the focus and the ire was directed at the Federal Aviation Administration. O’Brien: We have to begin with the fact that the tower at Washington Reagan Airport was understaffed.
We do, Amna.
One thing that stood out to me is, this was a very contentious NTSB hearing. That normally doesn’t occur that way. And a lot of the focus and the ire was directed at the Federal Aviation Administration.
We have to begin with the fact, Amna, that the tower at Washington Reagan Airport was understaffed. One controller was handling two frequencies, the fixed-wing airliner coming in for landing and the helicopter traffic designed to fly beneath that flight path. That controller was overwhelmed.
And, as you pointed out, inside that darkened Army helicopter on a training mission, there was confusion on communication. There was a little bit of confusion about what altitude they were at. And, ultimately, when the controller said, do you see the airliner, they looked at apparently another aircraft and said, yes, we do.
But it wasn’t the aircraft that they ultimately collided with. So, a series of confusing events, and ultimately, at the root of it, an overwhelmed flight controller who was handling two frequencies where two people should have been assigned.