NTSB Blames FAA Airspace Design in Fatal DCA Midair Collision

The National Transportation Safety Board released a 398-page final report Feb. 17, 2026, detailing 74 findings, five contributing factors and 50 recommendations — 33 targeting the FAA. The report examines a midair collision Jan. 29, 2025, between PSA Airlines Flight 5342, a CRJ-700, and a U.S. Army Sikorsky UH-60L Black Hawk, resulting in 67 fatalities in the deadliest U.S. aviation accident since 2001.

The NTSB identified the probable cause as FAA placement of Helicopter Route 4 too close to Runway 33's approach path without safeguards, failure to review and act on collision-risk warnings, overreliance on pilot-applied visual separation, high controller workload from combined helicopter and local control positions, and inadequate Army oversight of altimetry. The report noted the FAA had ignored 15,214 close-proximity events — including 85 near-misses — over a decade, demonstrating long-standing safety gaps in Washington-D.C. airspace.

In response, Congress introduced the ALERT Act to mandate FAA reforms, and the FAA issued an interim final rule in January 2026 restricting helicopters and powered-lift aircraft near DCA. The report recommends airspace redesign, enhanced collision-avoidance technology and better data sharing between military and civil authorities to eliminate the systemic vulnerabilities highlighted in the findings.