NTSB probes collision avoidance technology, safety systems in final day of midair collision investigative hearings
It was the first major midair collision in the United States in decades, killing 67 people over the Potomac River, near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
The first two days of testimony highlighted critical moments leading up to the collision as investigators probed witnesses about standard safety practices that should have occurred, altimeters that displayed incorrect altitude, and the helicopter route that came perilously close to the path planes use landing at the airport.
There were over ten hours of testimony on each of the first two days of the hearing. Friday could go even longer to make sure everyone has an opportunity to ask questions, NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said.
The NTSB asks questions, but parties to the investigation including the Army, PSA Airlines, air traffic controller's union and Federal Aviation Administration can also examine witnesses.
On Thursday, an FAA witness acknowledged the air traffic control tower failed to warn the pilots flying the American Airlines regional jet, operated by PSA Airlines.
'No safety alerts,' were given, Nick Fuller, the FAA's acting deputy chief operating officer of operations, testified.
'Should the local controller have let the PSA crew know that there was a helicopter there?' Homendy asked.
'Yes,' Fuller acknowledged.
The tower did warn the pilots of the Black Hawk helicopter about the approaching regional jet and they said they would avoid it, transcripts of the cockpit voice recorders and air traffic control audio released revealed.
Yet, moments later, the aircraft collided.
Multiple air traffic controllers and pilots at Reagan National Airport told the NTSB they struggled with the constant stream of planes, leading to a 'make it work' attitude among them.
'This is 'we just make it work,' because we don't have another choice,' NTSB investigator Brian Soper said they told him in on-site interviews. 'There are airplanes coming in and everything was related to the capacity, the demand or the amount of traffic.'
Another witness, Rich Dressler of Metro Aviation, which operates medical helicopters in Washington said the way the Army flies helicopters around the city makes him uneasy.
'Is there any unit that when you hear it makes you feel uncomfortable?' Soper asked.
'Sadly, yes,' Dressler responded. 'I don't like saying that 12th aviation battalion gives us all pause in the community. And I'm speaking from my group there; we are all very uncomfortable when those two units are operating.'
An NTSB determination of the collision's probable cause is expected in January.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Atlanta Airport's Ceiling Collapses, Releasing Foul-Smelling Liquid
Eyewitnesses captured video footage of what appears to be brown sewage water raining down before the ceiling collapsedNEED TO KNOW Eyewitnesses captured video footage inside Atlanta's airport of what appears to be brown sewage water raining down from the ceiling Jamaal Carlos Jr. told local outlet 11 Alive despite the fluids, travelers continued to walk through the water to reach their gates Earlier this year, another "odor" sent airline and airport employees to the hospitalVideo footage captured inside America's busiest airport shows what appears to be brown sewage water raining down from the ceiling. 'As we're waiting, we see water just pouring from the ceiling. It had been pouring consistently for maybe 10-15 seconds,' eyewitness Jamaal Carlos Jr., who captured video of the event at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Aug. 4, told local news outlet 11 Alive. 'And it just progressively got worse. The ceiling fell through and it stinks really bad.' According to Carlos, it took airport employees five to 10 minutes to respond and clean up the spill. Despite the fluids, some travelers didn't even bat an eye. 'Even after it poured... I thought they would get buckets or do something, but people were walking through it," he said. Eventually, airport crews roped off the area with yellow caution tape and forced passengers to take alternate paths around the airport. "Airport personnel had to come and re-route everyone to take a different route. It's crazy. So, they moved our gate... we were just so close to it. So they moved us a little bit further, but you can still smell it two or three gates down," Carlos added. Carlos said he saw more debris continue to fall from the ceiling, but eventually the water stopped. "Following yesterday's ceiling leak near Gate T11, cleanup and sanitization of the affected area have been completed, and normal operations have resumed," a representative for the airport shared in a statement with PEOPLE. They added: "The exact cause is still under investigation. Throughout the response, customer service representatives assisted in redirecting passengers, and there was no impact to overall airport operations.' Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Earlier this year, multiple people at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina were hospitalized with 'inhalation symptoms' following an 'odor' emitting from an aircraft. On June 27, airline and airport employees were transported to local hospitals for "inhalation symptoms of an unknown substance from an aircraft,' Mecklenburg Emergency Medical Services confirmed in a statement to PEOPLE. Seven individuals had 'minor injuries' and were in stable condition. An American Airlines representative told PEOPLE that 'an odor was reported' on the flight 'prior to customers boarding.' "Crew members received medical attention on site and were transported to a nearby hospital where they were evaluated and released," the spokesperson continued. "The aircraft was taken out of service to be inspected by our maintenance team." According to the American Airlines website, the flight to Los Angeles was 'canceled.' Read the original article on People
Fox News
3 hours ago
- Fox News
Explosive new report blames OceanGate and its CEO for 'preventable' Titan sub disaster
A damning new report on the Titan submersible disaster that killed five people has revealed that the tragedy was preventable, and the result of a flawed experimental design and ignored safety warnings — with particular culpability placed on OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush. The 335-page report by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) is the first full government post-mortem on the tragedy to date and the first official document to clearly assign blame to OceanGate, the now-defunct operators of the ill-fated vessel, and Rush. The report paints Rush as the architect of the submersible's failure who overruled engineers' warnings about the vessel's flawed design, which ultimately led to the vessel imploding near the Titanic wreck in the North Atlantic Ocean in 2023, resulting in the instantaneous death of all five occupants. Rush, who was piloting Titan when it imploded nearly 11,000 feet below the Atlantic Ocean, insisted on using a five-inch-thick carbon fiber hull despite failed model tests and industry opposition. The submersible's viewport was only rated for depths of 2,130 feet, far less than the 12,500 feet needed to reach the Titanic. "This marine casualty and the loss of five lives was preventable," said Jason Neubauer, the USCG Titan Marine Board of Investigation (MBI) chair. "The two-year investigation has identified multiple contributing factors that led to this tragedy, providing valuable lessons learned to prevent a future occurrence." Previous reports focused on the technical cause of the Titan's implosion but stopped short of assigning blame. "Mr. Rush exerted full control over every facet of the company's operations and engineering decisions... His refusal to prioritize safety and his dominant leadership style created an environment where the Titan's eventual implosion became almost a certainty," the report found. The board determined the primary contributing factors were OceanGate's inadequate design, certification, maintenance and inspection process for the Titan. Other factors included a toxic workplace culture at OceanGate, weak safety rules for deep-sea subs like Titan — especially those using new or experimental designs — and a broken system for protecting employees who tried to speak out. Titan suffered a catastrophic implosion due to structural failure of its carbon fiber composite pressure hull and the carbon fiber hull showed signs of fatigue and delamination in testing before the fatal dive. While OceanGate engineers and advisors raised serious concerns about its safety margin, they were ignored or sidelined by Rush, per the report. "Titan's carbon fiber hull design and construction, in terms of winding, curing, gluing, thickness of hull and manufacturing standards, introduced flaws that weakened the overall structural integrity of the Titan hull," the report reads. "The carbon fiber pressure hull suffered a full material collapse due to buckling on its final dive." Several red flags were raised in previous dives, but Rush continued operating Titan, dismissed internal warnings and concealed critical damage from crew and clients, the report found. For instance, more than 150 loud hull-cracking noises were heard in a 2019 dive, indicating progressive degradation. A four-foot crack was later found in the original hull, which was de-rated after pressure testing — prompting OceanGate to build a new one. However, throughout the development of both hulls, four one-third scale models were tested and all of them imploded under pressure, reinforcing that the carbon fiber design was unstable. Additionally, the forward dome of the Titan — a 3,500-pound pressure-bearing component — was designed to be secured with 18 bolts, but Rush only used four bolts, according to testimony from OceanGate's director of engineering at the time. During a 2021 Titanic dive, Titan's four securing bolts sheared off while being hoisted aboard the Horizon Arctic, causing the forward dome to detach and fall onto the Launch and Recovery System platform in a catastrophic mechanical failure that narrowly avoided injuring the crew. The report found OceanGate bypassed industry-standard certification, ignored its own Health, Safety, and Environmental (HSE) manual and fostered a culture that suppressed safety concerns. "Had OceanGate adhered to the safety standards outlined in its own HSE Manual and fostered a culture of transparency and accountability, this tragedy would likely have been averted with the final Titan hull removed from service well ahead of its implosion," the report states. "Encouraging employees to voice concerns without fear of retaliation and prioritizing safety over expediency could have prevented the sequence of events that led to the disaster. Instead, the company's systemic failures created an environment where risks were ignored, and consequences were inevitable." Along with Rush, U.K. billionaire Hamish Harding, French mariner Paul-Henri Nargeolet and father-son pair Shahzada Dawood and Suleman Dawood also perished in the disaster. While the passengers signed waivers, they were not fully informed of the degree of experimental engineering involved or prior red flags, according to the report. Neubauer said stronger oversight and clear options for operators who are exploring new concepts in deep-sea exploration. U.S. regulatory authorities like the USCG and NTSB lacked jurisdiction because the Titan operated in international waters and was registered in the Bahamas. The report called for new legislation to expand U.S. oversight authority over deep-sea commercial submersibles carrying American citizens. The MBI called for new international safety standards, a ban on unclassed passenger vessels at extreme depths, a national submersible registry and referred potential legal violations to the Justice Department.
Forbes
5 hours ago
- Forbes
Why Running Late Is Damaging Your Personal Brand
In an age when most people are overstretched and digital distractions abound, how you 'show up' has a significant impact on your reputation, personal brand, and professional image. Whether demonstrating presence of character or simply arriving at a meeting on time, showing up matters more than ever. Being punctual is an important part of your professional reputation these days. In a world where first impressions are hugely influential and attention spans are short, being on time is one of the easiest ways to signal professionalism and dependability. The Pre-Smartphone World Required Punctuality At the risk of severely dating myself here, do you remember how people picked up passengers at airports before the advent of mobile phones? You may not have even been born yet! The pre-smartphone 20th century may seem like ages ago, but it was only a few years before Apple released the iPhone, social media platforms transformed how we share updates, and messaging apps became a primary way of staying in touch. Back then, an airline passenger typically shared their flight details and arrival time with the person meeting them at the airport ahead of time by calling, emailing, or even writing a letter. Sounds crazy, I know. They would agree on a meeting spot like a specific curbside door, baggage claim belt, or even gate because non-ticketed passengers were allowed past security before 9/11. I still remember hugging my parents gate-side when I landed home for the holidays during college. You always had a contingency plan, where you would agree to meet at an alternative location if anyone was running late. In case you couldn't find each other, you could request a public announcement over the intercom system, requesting the other person to meet you at a specific location. The system worked surprisingly well. Back then, I never had any issues finding anyone. But things only worked smoothly if people showed up on time. If you were late, finding one another involved much more hassle, effort, and stress. Although difficult to imagine now, planning and punctuality were built into how we moved through the world. Those days now seem like a distant relic from another era. A lot's changed since then in how we communicate with each other and interpret tardiness. Real-Time Communications Enable Last-Minute Updates These days, in a world where asynchronous communication through text messaging, email, and online posts is the norm, you're always only a few taps away from letting someone instantly know you're 'running 10 minutes late." If you want to change plans last minute, you just ping someone. No skin off anyone's back, right? I'm no social scientist, so I can only speculate on why people may find lateness to be more acceptable now. A few reasons may be driving this shift. The increase in virtual meetings has blurred the social cues you normally get when you're late to an in-person meeting. Perhaps the always-reachable mindset has eroded the former standard of pre-planned punctuality. Additionally, many people may be more fluid and flexible in how they perceive meeting start times. After all, if you're waiting for someone who's running late, you can easily fill your idle time by doom-scrolling on your phone or whipping out your laptop to catch up on work. Acceptable lateness may also be generational. According to 2024 research conducted by Meeting Canary, 47% of Gen Z respondents said arriving 5-10 minutes late is considered on-time, whereas only 22% of Baby Boomers shared that view. This generational shift suggests that punctuality norms have evolved. Therefore, being reliably on time can be a simple but powerful differentiator for your personal brand. Chronic Lateness Will Undermine Your Reputation Recently, I've been on the receiving end of plenty of people being late. For example, last week, I was scheduled to meet someone in central London for an informal catch-up in the city. That morning, I quickly dropped off my daughter at school, then ran to catch a train into the city to make it to our meeting on time. While en route, the person I was meeting texted to say she was running 15 minutes late due to work she was trying to finish. She eventually arrived over 30 minutes late while I patiently waited. This marked the third time in a row she was late to one of our meetings. Last month, I was supposed to have lunch with a friend I'd not seen in years, who suggested we meet. After hosting a workshop, I rushed across town to meet him. 10 minutes after we were supposed to meet, he sent me an apologetic WhatsApp voice message (rather than just calling me) to say he had forgotten we were meeting but could still make it there about an hour after our scheduled meeting time. Something similar happened during our last two attempts to meet. I left. Now, everyone runs late sometimes or forgets a meeting here and there. Maybe these people had a lot on their plates at that specific moment. Maybe they were struggling with something I wasn't aware of. Maybe I'm just not a priority for these people. There could be a whole host of explanations here, and I generally give people the benefit of the doubt in most situations because everyone has their behind-the-scenes struggles. 'Of course, life happens. Subways run late, life emergencies happen, and there's always the unexpected,' says etiquette expert Nick Leighton. 'If you make an effort to communicate with people as soon as you know you're running late, and you have a reputation for being on time, you'll be easily forgiven.' The issue arises when your tardiness becomes a pattern, especially with a certain individual who may be very patient and understanding but will still likely prefer punctuality. 'Always showing up late is disrespectful,' says Leighton. 'Being on time sends the signal to others that you understand that their time is just as valuable as yours.' Plenty Of Valid Reasons For Being Late Exist I never expect to be at the top of anyone's priority list. Everyone's busy with their own matters. Everyone has important commitments. Everyone has plenty of responsibilities. However, because these specific individuals had a pattern of being habitually tardy, forgetful, and unable to keep appointments with me, the message I took away in both cases was that our time together wasn't even a momentary priority for them. You may have completely relatable and understandable reasons for being late. Some may even be cultural. 'Some business etiquette norms will differ across cultures,' says etiquette trainer Mariah Grumet Humbert. 'Punctuality may be less prioritized or perhaps not held in such a high regard among some cultures.' Regardless of your perfectly valid reasons, being chronically late will steadily chip away at your credibility, reliability, and professionalism, leaving others with the impression they're not important enough for you to show up on time, which will weaken any relationship. 'Being regularly late communicates you don't have a certain level of awareness or even respect for other people's time,' says Humbert. People Can Now Text The Tardiness Away With smartphones always within arm's reach, we now have the luxury and convenience of being able to adjust plans in real time. Devices have seemed to exacerbate a culture of permissible lateness these days. However, just because we can conveniently adjust things last minute, doesn't mean we should. According to Monster, consistently being late to meetings is considered one of the top five rudest workplace behaviors amongst colleagues. 'Being late in any circumstance can be a concern for your brand's reputation. You are your brand,' says Christine Haas, CEO of Christine Haas Media. Remember, people are always watching and taking inventory of how you show up in the world.' At best, being late means something just came up. We all experience travel delays. We all get unlucky, forget things, or have sudden, last-minute issues. Things can't always be planned to the dot. Everyone gets it. Life happens. People generally understand and accept this. We're all human after all. We all run late sometimes. And we've all had moments in life when we're just overwhelmed. However, even in these understandable situations, the start of your conversation is then focused on your tardiness. 'Being late means rushed and apologetic, making it harder to connect positively' at the start of a meeting, according to Hayley Dawson, founder of Let's Talk Human Skills. Conversely, when you're on time, 'you can greet the person warmly and spark engaging conversation, which helps maintain a positive relationship from the start of your interaction," says Dawson. People also know delays don't always happen. Plenty of people in my network consistently show up on time, while others tend to always run late. And even the most patient individuals will notice patterns with certain individuals and eventually no longer tolerate chronic, inconsiderate behavior. The Cost of Making Others Wait On You Every time you meet someone, the manner in which you show up will say something about your personal brand. 'Being punctual is a form of non-verbal communication. By showing up on time, you're non-verbally telling that person you care enough about their time and the task at hand, says Humbert. 'It's a representation of your work ethic and competency." If you're chronically late, especially with a specific individual, be aware that your tardiness is signaling to them that you think your time is more valuable than theirs. Even if someone gives you the benefit of the doubt, being repeatedly tardy is inconsiderate and will eventually paint a picture that you're unreliable, disorganized, and unworthy of their time, even for informal meet-ups. 'Punctuality is a sign of respect,' says Michelby L. Whitehead, CEO of PR agency Michelby & Co. 'When you're regularly late . . . people begin to expect lackluster effort and work from you, or they stop dealing with you altogether.' Being On Time Shows You Value Others' Time Your punctuality reflects your priorities. In this age of virtual communications, AI companions, and apps competing for our attention, one of the simplest things you can do to come across professionally is to just show up on time. It's such a simple gesture, but it signals you're reliable, respectful, and professional, which are all human qualities that will become even more valuable over time. I can't claim to be someone who's always on time. No one can. However, I also never assume I'm busier than the person I'm meeting. I certainly don't see my time as more valuable than anyone else's. And it's not fair to make someone sit and wait for me, especially since that other person may have jumped through hoops to be punctual themselves. Therefore, I will always do my very best to show up on time out of respect for the person I'm meeting. Time is one of the few things we all share, yet time is also finite, so one of the greatest gifts you can give someone is your complete attention during that finite time you have with them. If you consistently demonstrate to someone else you value their time as much as you want them to value yours, you'll earn the kind of respect that makes people want to see you again.
