Pilots and air traffic controllers have raised alarms about potential safety hazards at Reagan National Airport (DCA) for over three decades. At least 15 incidents, dating back to 1991, have been reported to authorities, warning of dangerously close flight paths between airplanes and helicopters. This issue came to the forefront following a tragic collision between a military Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines Flight 5342, which resulted in 67 fatalities.
Former Air Force pilot John Nance noted, One of these incidents would have been too many. This barometer is in the red. He stressed the need for immediate action to address the longstanding issues.
Reports reveal that runway 33 at DCA, the site of the latest collision, has been identified in at least four safety concern reports. Steve Ganyard, a former Marine Corps fighter pilot, emphasized that these incidents underscore a systemic danger: This has been happening too many times over the years, and it’s now led to a tragedy that could have been prevented.
The Aviation Safety Reporting System, managed by NASA for the FAA, allows aviation professionals to report issues confidentially. It sheds light on repeated accounts of aircraft flight crews encountering helicopters flying surprisingly close, often describing near misses within mere hundreds of feet.
One report goes so far as to label DCA as one of the most dangerous airports in the United States, highlighting broader safety concerns affecting crews flying in and out of the airport. In 2015, flight crews experienced a near mid-air collision involving a regional jet and a helicopter on runway 33, due to a sudden landing switch.
American Airlines Flight 5342 faced similar changes, moving from runway 1 to runway 33 to maintain traffic flow, which raises questions about air traffic control communication with the flight crew. The helicopter involved acknowledged seeing the plane, but clear communication remains under scrutiny.
NASA’s ASRS reports, meant for feedback to improve safety, detail the confusion and close encounters caused by helicopter paths too near incoming flights below. Pilots reported unsettling degrees of proximity with helicopters frequently running routes over the river, issues deemed commonplace at DCA.
John Nance and Steve Ganyard recommend urgent measures to reroute helicopter traffic away from Reagan National while the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board work on evaluations post-crash.
The ASRS was designed to identify and mitigate risks within the National Airspace System. The confidentiality of reports allows pilots to disclose information freely, avoiding immediate repercussions, but still poses challenges in understanding the full scope due to non-corroborated data.
As Nance outlines, these decades of close calls illustrate the dire need for systemic changes. It's critical to prevent further avoidable accidents by reassessing flight paths and airspace management to ensure safe separation of aircraft at Reagan National Airport.