It’s been nearly 60 hours since an American Airlines regional jet and U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter collided in mid-air as the jet attempted to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
All 67 people on both aircraft are believed to have died.
In the past day we’ve learned information that helps our understanding of what happened and why. But there’s also been plenty of speculation about routine aviation operations.
For instance, there’s been discussion that the pilots of the regional jet were switched from one runway to another shortly before trying to land at DCA. This happens at busy airports every day and is not unusual nor unsafe.
There’s a rhythm to slotting airplanes onto busy runways. Different planes fly at different approach speeds. Sometimes a jet is moving too quickly or too slowly and it creates an accordion effect. That’s when a flight controller will suggest an alternate runway to create a better sequence of arrivals.
A pilot can accept or reject the request. This flight crew accepted the change and were making what appeared to be a stable approach toward runway 33 when the collision happened.
Other news outlets have focused on an apparent Federal Aviation Administration report that flagged “unusual staffing levels” at the DCA tower — noting controllers sometimes work two frequencies or cover two flight sectors. This is also not unusual — even at busy airports late in the evening when there are fewer flights. It’s not ideal – but isn’t necessarily dangerous.
There was also presidential finger-pointing Thursday about DEI policies at the FAA, questions about potential mistakes by the helicopter flight crew, and so on.
These are all the things that the National Transportation Safety Board will focus on as it investigates this accident. The answers will come – but they will take time.
The NTSB has promised to release more factual information Friday. In fact, the second day of a typical airplane disaster investigation yields plenty of new information. The NTSB says its initial preliminary report should be completed in 30 days.
In the meantime, NPR’s reporting will continue to focus on what happened and learning what we can about the victims and telling their stories.
