Military–Civilian Airspace Operations

The NTSB concluded that systemic failures across multiple organizations — including the FAA’s failure to recognize that a helicopter route lacked adequate separation from Reagan National’s secondary runway and its refusal to add detailed helicopter routes to pilots’ charts despite repeated warnings — contributed to the 2025 midair collision near D.C. that killed 67 people, with board members apologizing to victims’ families. Investigators said a local controller became overwhelmed as traffic rose to 10 then 12 aircraft (seven planes and five helicopters), degrading situational awareness, and the FAA last week made permanent a post‑crash change segregating helicopter and airplane operations around DCA.