The Federal Aviation Administration announced Thursday that it will make permanent the safety rules imposed after a January 2025 collision between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines jet near Reagan National Airport that killed 67 people. The rules, effective Friday, require military aircraft to broadcast their locations and prohibit air traffic controllers from relying on visual separation near the airport.
The permanent rules represent the first major regulatory response to systemic failures in the crowded airspace around the nation’s capital, where the FAA failed to recognize a pattern of 85 near misses in the three years before the crash.
Regulations and timeline
The new rules took effect Friday and require military aircraft to broadcast their locations using automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B Out) systems. Before the 2025 collision, this broadcast was routinely not performed. Controllers at Reagan National are now barred from relying on pilots to maintain visual separation between aircraft within five miles of the airport.
“After that horrific night in January, this administration made a promise to do whatever it takes to secure the skies over our nation’s capital and ensure such a tragedy would never happen again,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Thursday. “Today’s announcement reaffirms that commitment.”
The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a hearing Tuesday to detail its findings on the crash, the deadliest aviation disaster on American soil since 2001.
Investigation findings
The investigation identified multiple contributing factors. The Black Hawk helicopter was flying 78 feet (24 meters) higher than the 200-foot limit established for its route and likely had a faulty altimeter. However, investigators found that even if the helicopter had maintained the correct altitude, the route design did not provide nearly enough separation between aircraft to ensure safety.
Air traffic controllers had warned the FAA for years about dangers posed by the concentration of military helicopters around the nation’s capital. The agency failed to recognize an alarming pattern of 85 near misses in the three years preceding the crash.
Family advocacy continues
Families of the 67 crash victims are pressing Congress and the FAA to act on recommendations the National Transportation Safety Board is expected to announce after Tuesday’s hearing.
Matt Collins of Massachusetts, whose younger brother Chris was killed in the crash, said he and other family members intend to maintain a visible presence in Washington until lawmakers enact changes. “I hope to have some hearings done in the Senate and Congress, and I hope results come out of these hearings that they have,” Collins said. “I hope we’re not just placated and it falls off into the background until another big news story comes up.”
Collins said he continues to fly regularly for work and pleasure, though his parents have not boarded a plane since the collision. “I still think flying is probably the safest mode of transportation,” he said, “but I think it could be a heck of a lot safer.”
The victims
Many of the 67 people who died on the flight were young figure skaters and their parents and coaches who had just attended a development camp in Wichita, Kansas, following the U.S. figure skating championships.