At 2:00p.m., the NTSB took an unusual step by releasing a recommendation before the completion of an investigation. The report highlights airspace congestion, air traffic control staffing issues, and helicopter altitude deviations as key factors in the incident.
"This NTSB action is highly unusual. Releasing an emergency recommendation for the FAA to take immediate action before completing the investigation is rare,” stated Motley Rice aviation attorney and former Inspector General of the U.S. DOT, Mary Schiavo. “By labeling the helicopter route an intolerable risk to aviation and demanding its immediate, permanent closure, the NTSB is sending a clear message about the urgency of the situation.”
Mary continued, “The NTSB cited 15,214 close calls between helicopters and commercial airplanes from 2021 to 2024. In half of the of these incidents, the helicopter was flying above their altitude restriction. Two-thirds of these incidents occurred at night. The NTSB also noted that this data was readily available to the FAA, which should have been reviewing it for safety trend analysis but apparently was not.”
She added, “Additionally, the conflict alert in the Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower was clearly audible for 20 seconds before the collision. The FAA ATC was obligated to alert the commercial flight and take immediate action to resolve the conflict, yet failed to do so, highlighting a critical lapse in safety protocol.”
