The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released two reports on March 11 into the deadly midair collision between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet in late January that led to 67 deaths.
One report details the agency’s preliminary findings into the crash, and the other offers safety recommendations for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on the potential for midair collisions between traffic on helicopter Route 4 and airplanes landing on runway 33 or departing runway 15 at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), the airspace where the crash occurred.
The American jet was descending toward the airport when it was hit on its right side by the military helicopter at roughly 300 feet of altitude, investigators said. The helicopter was flying 100 feet above its maximum allowed altitude and was running a training mission….