The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), citing the fatal Jan. 29 midair collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), is recommending action to sharply limit helicopter operations near the approach route where the accident occurred.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told a news conference Tuesday that the board had issued two urgent safety recommendations calling on the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to act immediately to reduce the potential for midair collisions of airplanes landing on Runway 33 or departing on Runway 15 with helicopters flying on helicopter Route 4, just north of the airport. At some points along that route, a helicopter flying over the eastern shoreline of the Potomac would have 75 ft or less of vertical separation from an airplane on approach to Runway 33.
Current separation distances are “insufficient and pose an intolerable risk to aviation safety,” Homendy said.
The NTSB’s recommendations call …
