NTSB to outline causes of deadly midair collision over DC at hearing

WASHINGTON - A hearing Tuesday is expected to clarify the key factors behind last January’s midair collision near Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people. 

What we know:

The National Transportation Safety Board will also lay out recommendations aimed at preventing similar tragedies.

All 67 people aboard an American Airlines jet from Wichita, Kansas, and an Army Black Hawk helicopter were killed when the aircraft collided and plunged into the icy Potomac River on Jan. 29, 2025. It was the deadliest U.S. aviation crash since 2001.

READ MORE: Families, first responders reflect one year after the DCA plane crash

The Federal Aviation Administration implemented several changes soon after the crash to keep helicopters and planes from sharing the same crowded airspace around the capital, and it made those changes permanent last week. 

One year later: Remembering the DCA plane crash

It's been almost one year since the tragic mid-air collision between an American Airlines plane and an Army Black Hawk helicopter claimed the lives of 67 people. Tonight, FOX 5 looks back on the tragic incident and remembers the victims. 

The NTSB is expected to call for additional steps, and families of the victims say they hope the hearing leads to meaningful reforms.

"I hope that we see a clear path through the recommendations they offer to ensure that this never happens again," said Rachel Feres, who lost her cousin Peter Livingston and his wife and two young daughters in the crash according to the Associated Press. "That nobody else has to wake up to hear that an entire branch of their family tree is gone or their wife is gone or the child is gone. That’s what I hope coming out of this. I hope we have clarity and urgency."

NTSB Chair discusses the investigation into the deadly DCA mid-air collision

FOX 5’s Tom Fitzgerald spoke with Chair of the National Transportation Safety Board Jennifer Homendy as the nation prepares to mark one year since the deadly mid-air collision between an American Airlines flight and an Army helicopter that killed 67 people.