The National Transportation Safety Board said Monday that the FAA’s responses to 11 of 33 safety recommendations stemming from the 2025 midair collision near DCA in Washington, D.C., are “unacceptable.” According to a new report, the board told Reuters those responses failed to adequately address safety concerns identified after the collision between a PSA Airlines CRJ700 operating as American Airlines Flight 5342 and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter.
ADS-B In Requirement
Among the disputed recommendations is an NTSB proposal requiring aircraft operating in airspace where ADS-B Out is mandatory to also carry ADS-B In equipment capable of displaying traffic and providing audible alerts. The NTSB’s investigation concluded that ADS-B In information could have provided the airline crew additional information about the helicopter near DCA and supported earlier action to avoid the collision. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said simulations indicated the passenger aircraft could have received an alert 59 seconds before impact and the helicopter crew 48 seconds before impact.
“How many more decades have to go by before we again and again and again have to recommend it after terrible tragedy?” Homendy told Reuters.
FAA Response
The FAA has not indicated whether it intends to pursue a rule requiring ADS-B In, according to the NTSB. The agency is reviewing helicopter routes in six major cities and has completed similar reviews in four others. It has also issued a directive intended to maintain separation between airplanes and helicopters.
The NTSB issued 50 safety recommendations after completing its investigation of the Jan. 29, 2025, DCA collision, which killed all 67 people aboard the two aircraft. In a July statement, Homendy said all 50 recommendations should be implemented and called continued delays an “unacceptable risk to public safety.”
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