DC plane crash caused by improper training, safety measures: NTSB report

Just over a year after 67 people were killed in a plane crash near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on what caused the fatal crash.The crash happened just before 9 p.m. on Jan. 29, 2025, when American Airlines flight 5342, operated by PSA Airlines, collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near DCA. The collision sent both aircraft plummeting into the Potomic River. There were no survivors.The NTSB released its final report on the fatal crash on Tuesday.Ultimately, the NTSB found that the crash was caused by the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) placement of a helicopter route so close to the runway approach at DCA, combined with heavy airport traffic and inadequate safety systems and training.SUGGESTED: NTSB outlines causes of deadly midair collision over DC at hearingAccording to the report, air traffic control at DCA was hindered by what it called an "unsustainable" traffic load "which regularly strained the DCA air traffic control tower workforce and degraded safety over time." The NTSB said that air traffic controllers were overreliant on judging aircraft separation by eye.  The report also said the crew aboard the Army helicopter were not aware of the limitations of the aircraft's instruments, which led to the crew flying above the allowed altitude, leading to the collision. The NTSB also reported that the FAA failed to act on several of the board's previous safety recommendations, "which should have led to several organizational and operational changes based on previously identified risks that were known to management." The NTSB issued dozens of new recommendations to the FAA, Army, Department of Transportation, and other agencies, including better air traffic controller training, new risk assessment tools, improved collision alert systems, and stricter oversight of helicopter routes near airports.Since the crash, the FAA has reduced hourly arrival rates at DCA, restricted helicopters near Reagan's airspace and now requires helicopters to broadcast their location. The administration has also increased staffing at DCA's air traffic control tower.Virginia lawmakers tell FOX 5 though that they are frustrated that the Rotocraft Operations Transparency And Technology Oversight Reform (ROTOR) Act appears stalled in Congress. The bill requires aircraft be equipped with technology that transmits their positions to others operating in the same airspace.All 64 people on board the American Airlines plane, and all three crew members on board the Army Black Hawk helicopter were killed in the crash. RELATED: Loved ones remember victims of DCA plane crash one year laterThey are:The NTSB's brief on the investigation can be found on the board's website here. The full final report can be found here.