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NTSB questions FAA's response to safety warnings before

crash

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FAA criticized for not testing controllers for alcohol

post-crash

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Reagan National's high traffic rates under scrutiny by

NTSB

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, July 31 (Reuters) - The National

Transportation Safety Board on Thursday questioned the failure

of an air traffic controller to issue a warning about a

potential collision in the moments before a crash between an

Army helicopter and an American Airlines ( AAL ) regional jet

that killed 67 people.

The board held a second day of hearings on Thursday looking at

issues at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport before the

January 29 collision over the nearby Potomac River. It was the

deadliest U.S. air disaster in more than 20 years.

NTSB and Federal Aviation Administration officials said that

before the crash the controller on duty should have given a

traffic alert to the passenger jet, but instead gave one only to

the Army Black Hawk helicopter.

"The controller should have alerted the (American Airlines ( AAL )

plane) of the traffic," NTSB board member Michael Graham said.

FAA official Nick Fuller said the controller should have let

the American Airlines ( AAL ) crew know that there was a helicopter

nearby.

Asked why he did not issue the alert to the jet, the

controller told NTSB investigators in a January 31 interview

made public on Wednesday that he did not "think it would have

made a difference honestly."

The NTSB also cited a memo written by an employee in 2023

that questioned whether additional flights should be added to

the already congested Reagan National airport. FAA officials

also questioned whether the arrival flight rates during certain

30-minute periods were too high.

"So you're telling me today they're still flying more

operations than what you recommended in 2023?" NTSB board member

Todd Inman asked FAA manager Bryan Lehman, who agreed.

The FAA said in April it was reviewing Reagan National's

arrival rate, which is disproportionately concentrated within

the last 30 minutes of each hour.

NTSB investigators also questioned why the FAA failed to

conduct alcohol testing on the controllers who were at work at

the time of the crash.

NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy on the first day of the hearing

on Wednesday criticized the FAA for failing to act.

"Every sign was there that there was a safety risk, and the

tower was telling you," Homendy said. "You transferred people

out instead of taking ownership over the fact that everybody in

FAA in the tower was saying there was a problem ... Fix it. Do

better."

The main runway at Reagan is the single busiest runway in

the United States.

The NTSB disclosed that members of an FAA air traffic

working group in 2022 had urged moving helicopter traffic away

from Reagan National Airport and to establish airborne "hot

spots," but said the idea was rejected because the issue was

"too political."