Summary

  • The National Transportation Safety Board has just given an update on the investigation into a deadly crash between a passenger plane and a military helicopter in Washington DC in January

  • In the update, it said it was urgently recommending that helicopters be prohibited from operating close to Washington's Reagan National Airport when specific runways are being used

  • It also suggested the creation of a second route for helicopters, but said it was still investigating staffing and communication between air traffic controllers

  • The aircraft collided at night on 29 January as the plane was approaching Reagan airport

  • There were no survivors, with 64 passengers aboard the American Airlines flight and three soldiers on the Army Black Hawk identified as victims

Live Reporting

  1. NTSB urgently recommends banning some helicopter operations near Reagan airport

    NTSB chairman Jennifer Homendy has just finished speaking to reporters.

    Here's what she said about the NTSB's preliminary report:

    • It urgently recommends that helicopters be prohibited from operating close to Washington's Reagan National Airport when two specific runways - 15 and 33 - are being used
    • It suggests the creation of a separate route for helicopters
    • It says staffing and communication between air traffic controllers is still being investigated

    The stream has ended and we are now closing the page.

  2. News conference ends

    Investigators have finished giving an update the January mid-air collision over Washington DC that left 67 people dead.

  3. NTSB gives update on mid-air collision

    We're preparing to listen to a news conference by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), where investigators are expected to provide an update on the January crash between a military helicopter and a passenger jet above Washington DC, which killed 67 people.

    The crash happened when an American Airlines flight that had departed from Wichita, Kansas, was coming in for a landing at Reagan National Airport and collided with a Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk helicopter on 29 January.

    We will not be regularly providing text updates on this page, so tune in to watch live on the stream above.