NTSB Provides Update on Deadly DC Mid-Air Collision That Killed 67 A tragic mid-air collision near Washington, D.C.’s Ronald Reagan National Airport between an American Airlines jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter has claimed 67 lives. New details from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) suggest that communication failures and potentially inaccurate altitude readings may have contributed to the disaster. Communication Breakdown in the Final Moments NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy revealed that cockpit recordings from the Black Hawk indicate a critical radio transmission was interrupted—“stepped on”—just before the collision. According to Homendy, the interruption prevented the helicopter crew from hearing the complete instruction to “pass behind the…” the plane, as the microphone key was pressed at the same moment the message was being relayed. Additionally, part of another transmission, informing the crew that the jet was turning toward a different runway, migh...