on the over Washington in January started Wednesday with the goal of providing fresh information about what led to the 67-person disaster between an Army helicopter and a commercial jet.
In Washington, the National Transportation Safety Board began its hearings by asking investigators and witnesses how the Army, the Federal Aviation Administration, and its air traffic controllers may have contributed to the deadliest plane crash to hit the country since November 2001. The board is probably too early to determine what caused the crash.
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Even though statistics continue to show that flying is still the safest mode of transportation, the American Airlines plane from Wichita, Kansas, collided with a Black Hawk helicopter as it was landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport. This was the first incident of the year that has worried officials and the general public.
Video and animation depict the crash.
A video animation demonstrating the location of the airplane and helicopter before to the crash kicked off the hearing on Wednesday. It demonstrated how the helicopter crossed the helicopter route’s 200-foot (61-meter) altitude limit before running into the aircraft.
According to investigators, the flight data recorder revealed on Wednesday that the helicopter was actually 80–100 feet (24–30 meters) higher than what the pilots believed the barometric altimeter indicated they were flying. So the NTSB conducted tests on three other helicopters from the same unit in a flight over the same area and found similar discrepancies in their altimeters.
The helicopter pilot twice informed the controller that they observed the airplane and would avoid it in previously released air traffic control recordings. Surveillance footage of the chopper and plane merging in a fiery crash marked the animation’s conclusion.
Investigations have already revealed that the Army’s helicopters around the nation’s capital had a crucial piece of locating equipment, known as ADS-B Out, switched off, and that the FAA was unaware of a concerning history surrounding Reagan Airport in the years prior to the incident.
Bob Clifford, an aviation lawyer who plans to bring one of the first cases against the government next month, expressed his hope that the NTSB will examine the larger, persistent issues in the congested Washington airspace rather than just the immediate causes of this disaster.
There is a far more comprehensive picture in this case. And that is the known issues that were being disregarded, according to Clifford, regarding a hazardous environment for commercial aircraft to fly in while military aviation helicopters were present.
Changes that are suggested
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz isn’t waiting to suggest improvements, despite the fact that the full NTSB report won’t be made public until later this year. On Tuesday, he proposed legislation requiring all aircraft operators to broadcast their location data to other aircraft and air traffic controllers using both types of Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast, or ADS-B. Airlines would need to outfit their aircraft with the more complete ADS-B In technology, even though the majority of aircraft now have ADS-B Out equipment.
Cruz asserted that a double standard in aviation safety is impossible. Special exceptions for military training flights flying in crowded airspace should not be allowed.
The bill would remove the Department of Defense aircraft’s exemption from ADS-B communication demands. Additionally, it would mandate that the Army Inspector General examine the Army’s aviation safety procedures and that the FAA assess helicopter routes close to airports.
After multiple other crashes, NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy stated that her organization has been advocating for that action for decades.
“I want to emphasize that the board believes that equipping aircraft with ADS-B in capability will provide an immediate and substantial contribution to safety, especially during operations in and around airports,” she said in a letter to the FAA in 2008.
Although he would like to talk about some changes, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated that the law is the correct course of action. In addition, he implied that the previous government was not paying attention to the numerous near-misses that occurred in the airspace surrounding Washington.
According to Duffy, in the past, politicians and people alike grew complacent.
‘Fact-finding proceeding’
According to Homendy, the hearings that will take place over the following few days will be a fact-finding process. On Wednesday morning, the NTSB will also make thousands of pages of the crash investigation’s evidence available online.
According to FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford, he anticipates that during the next two and a half days, we will have some very uncomfortable conversations. However, he stated that these conversations must take place in the open and that we should prioritize the needs of the traveling public over our own interests.
Board members of the NTSB, investigators, and witnesses from the crash-related organizations will all be present at the hearings in Washington. Among other topics, panels will address collision avoidance technologies, air traffic controller training at Ronald Reagan National Airport, and military helicopter routes in the Washington region.
The nation’s antiquated and understaffed air traffic control system has been criticized by federal officials. One controller was handing at the crowded airport when the plane crashed in midair above Washington in January.
A multi-billion dollar proposal to modernize the system controllers’ usage of outdated technology, including as floppy drives, has been announced by Duffy.
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This story was written by Rio Yamat, Ben Finley, and Leah Askarinam for the Associated Press.