One-third of FAA responses to safety recommendations ‘unacceptable’

The Federal Aviation Administration's responses to 11 out of 33 recommendations made by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) following a deadly mid-air collision in January 2025 near Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport have been deemed unacceptable, according to the NTSB. The January 2025 collision between an American Airlines regional jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter resulted in 67 fatalities, marking it as the deadliest US aviation disaster in over two decades.

The NTSB criticized the FAA for failing to mandate a key safety system called ADS-B In, which could have provided crucial alerts to both pilots and crews moments before the collision. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy expressed frustration, asking repeatedly, "How many more decades have to go by before we again and again and again have to recommend it after terrible tragedy?"

Homendy and surviving family members plan to push for new legislation to address the accident's causes during a Tuesday congressional hearing. The FAA, in a letter to the NTSB, stated that it is reviewing helicopter routes in six major cities, has completed reviews in four cities, and has issued a directive to keep planes and helicopters separated.

However, the NTSB pointed out that the FAA did not confirm plans to write rules requiring ADS-B In implementation. The NTSB previously found systemic FAA failures as the root cause of the 2025 collision, attributing it to the agency's decision to allow helicopter flights near the airport without protective measures and its refusal to act on safety recommendation reviews.