NTSB chair Homendy warns next aircraft accident is ‘in the data right now’
Chair of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Jennifer Homendy, has appeared before the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) subcommittee, where she was questioned about the January 2025 crash between a Black Hawk helicopter and a American Eagle Bombardier CRJ700.
When asked by Chairman Steve Womack to pick the most alarming data conclusions drawn from the accident investigation so far, Homendy indicated that her biggest concern was the regularity of collision alerts at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).
Homendy told the subcommittee that there was data from 2011 to 2024 indicating that collision alerts were triggered monthly due to the close proximity between aircraft and helicopters at DCA.
“All this data is being collected by FAA from operators, from others, from voluntary reporting systems. Where is that data going to trend potential accidents and incidents in the future? The next accident is in the data right now. And what are we doing to figure out what that is?” Homendy said in front of Congress on March 26, 2025.
On March 12, 2025, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also expressed outrage that worrying data about close calls at DCA had not been recognized by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
“The fact that the data wasn’t properly analyzed to prevent the DCA tragedy makes me angry. Maybe it was because the focus wasn’t on safety, but those days are over. We’re going to make the changes necessary, like using AI to identify hotspots to take action preventively instead of retroactively,” Duffy said.
In a preliminary report published by the NTSB on March 11, 2025, investigators revealed that, between October 2021 and December 2024, there were 85 recorded incidents where planes and helicopters came dangerously close to each other within the same airspace.
In the report, the NTSB also issued a recommendation to permanently restrict helicopter operations near DCA when certain runways are in use.
The recommendations included:
Ban helicopter operations on Route 4 between Hains Point and the Wilson Bridge when Runway 15 or Runway 33 is active at DCA.
Establish an alternative helicopter route that facilitates essential air traffic, including law enforcement activities, Coast Guard patrols, and continuity of government operations, when the segment of Route 4 is closed.
Homendy appeared in front of the subcommittee to speak about the agency’s investigation protocols, ongoing work and priorities.
“I appreciate the need to right-size the federal workforce. In fact, I strongly agree with that goal,” Homendy said. “However, the NTSB runs lean – we always have. We have just 430 employees to carry out our mission and are authorized by Congress to go up to 450, though we would need significantly more than that to truly be fully staffed.”
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The post NTSB chair Homendy warns next aircraft accident is ‘in the data right now’ appeared first on AeroTime.
Chair of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Jennifer Homendy, has appeared before the Transportation, Housing and Urban…
The post NTSB chair Homendy warns next aircraft accident is ‘in the data right now’ appeared first on AeroTime.
