The Federal Aviation Administration’s acting head Chris Rocheleau told senators Thursday that “clearly something was missed” by the agency that eventually led to the fatal midair collision between a commercial jet and an Army Blackhawk helicopter over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.
The admission from Rocheleau came during a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee panel hearing focused on the crash in January that killed 67 people. Senators blamed the FAA for inadequate oversight for the congested airspace around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
“In a 13-year period, not a single month went by without at least one close call between a helicopter and a commercial jet operating at DCA,” said Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Jerry Moran, R-Kan., during the hearing. “There’s no question of, had this information been utilized by the FAA or others, that . . . there would have been an opportunity to do something.”
