The deadly mid-air collision at Reagan Airport in January was years in the making, the operations manager of the DCA air traffic control tower on the night of the accident told the National Transportation Safety Board on Friday.
"I don't think this accident occurred that night," Clark Allen, the operations manager, said at the investigative hearing. "I think it happened years before we've talked about, you know, resources, whether they were available or unavailable at certain time frames, folks being listened to or not being listened to at certain times. This was not that evening. It was a combination over many years that I think that built up to that evening."
The NTSB concluded three days of hearings late Friday, during which the agency's investigators questioned officials from the Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Army, American Airlines regional subsidiary PSA Airlines and other parties over January's mid-air collision between an American Airlines regional jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter over Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people.
It was the nation's first major commercial airline crash since 2009.
During the hearings, the NTSB was told that the Army helicopter never heard the command from the air traffic controller to "pass behind the CRJ" as the transmission was stepped on. It was also revealed that the plane's pilots were not warned by the controller that there was a helicopter nearby or cleared to fly near the helicopter.
The FAA has pushed back on claims of employees being removed or transferred out of the tower as a result of the collision.
"So we didn't remove anybody as a result of an accident," said Nick Fuller, acting deputy chief operating officer with the Air Traffic Organization.
Homendy challenged that assertion saying, "I think many would disagree, since it was done pretty immediately. Also the NTSB had to weigh in several times to get people help in the tower."
NTSB investigators also pressed FAA officials over controllers who manage DCA airspace feeling pressured to "make it work" due to the large volume of aircraft in the airspace near the airport.
"We have many non-standard tools that we use in order to be able to bring a significant amount of airplanes into DCA, " said Bryan Lehman, air traffic manager at the Potomac Terminal Radar Approach Control, which manages air traffic control in the region, while also adding that they do take "pride in it," but that it gets too much after a certain point.
Lehman also testified at the hearing that controllers sent a memo to their superiors in 2023 requesting a lower arrival rate for airplanes, but the concerns were dismissed and Congress approved more flights for DCA.
"Does the FAA right now support requiring any newly manufactured aircraft registered in the U.S. be equipped with ADSB in?" Homendy asked.
McIntosh said yes and showed support towards requiring aircraft to be equipped with ADSB out as well.
Experts have said it's more effective when an aircraft is equipped with both ADSB in and out so they can transmit their location and also receive the location of other aircraft in its near proximity.
A bill in Congress titled the "Rotor Act" was introduced earlier this week by Sen. Ted Cruz, which would require all aircraft, including military aircraft, to transmit ADSB location when flying. Notably, the newly appointed FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy were present at the news conference and showed their support towards the legislation.
The NTSB's investigation into the cause of the accident continues and a final report is expected by January 2026.
"We do this to improve safety certainly but we all do this with each of you in mind and your loved ones that were lost tragically with you in mind not just on the CRJ but also PAT 25 so we will continue on and hope to complete this investigation within a year," Homendy said in her closing remarks on Friday.