NTSB hearings on DCA crash investigation enter final day
Final day of NTSB hearings on DC plane crash
Friday was the final day of the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) three-day hearing on the deadly plane crash at Reagan Airport that took the lives of 67 people in January.
WASHINGTON - Friday was the final day of the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) three-day hearing on the deadly plane crash at Reagan Airport that took the lives of 67 people in January.
Much of Thursday's focus was on air traffic controllers and the long-held concerns about military traffic near Reagan National Airport but on Friday, the Board highlighted what went wrong with the aircraft's collision avoidance systems.
What we know:
Reporters learned that the Army's Black Hawk helicopters have inaccurate altitude gauges generally, and this particular Sikorsky was flying above its allowed limit just before the crash.
Blackbox transcripts also revealed that the Army pilots attempted to avoid the CRJ-700 seconds before the collision occurred. National Transportation Safety Board officials also repeatedly testified that air traffic controllers at Reagan Airport told them to just "make it work" despite persistent challenges in the congested airspace.
Another key takeaway revealed Friday was that Reagan Airport's control tower currently has fewer air traffic controllers working than the night of the fatal crash; there are currently 19 operational versus 25 on Jan. 29. The tower is authorized to have 30 operational.
Personal impact:
Doug Lane, who lost his wife and son in the crash, sat through the hearings over the last three days and said that doing so has left him with mixed feelings.
"I think in some ways it's been a relief to see some of the details behind what happened see the light of day," he said Friday. "At the same time, a lot of us as family members are extremely disappointed by the lack of urgency these organizations are showing."
The NTSB is set to complete its investigation next year.
NTSB hearings on DCA plane crash enters day 2
Tuesday was day two of a three-day hearing on the deadly plane crash at Reagan Airport that took the lives of 67 people in January. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigative hearings began Wednesday morning.
The backstory:
On Jan. 29, American Airlines Flight 5342 was preparing to touchdown at Ronald Reagan National Airport when air traffic controllers asked pilots if they could land the jet on a shorter runway a few minutes before landing, and they said they were able.
Controllers then cleared the plane to land on Runway 33. Flight-tracking sites showed the plane adjusting its approach to the new runway.
Less than 30 seconds before the crash, an air traffic controller asked the Black Hawk if it had the arriving plane in sight.
The controller made another radio call to the helicopter moments later, telling them, "PAT 25, pass behind the CRJ." Seconds after that, the two aircrafts collided.
The wreckage tumbled into the icy Potomac River and all 67 people on board — 60 passengers and four crew members on the American Eagle jetliner, and three people onboard the military helicopter — were killed in the crash. It marked the deadliest U.S. air disaster in almost 25 years.