WASHINGTON — National Transportation Safety Board members were deeply troubled Tuesday over years of ignored warnings about helicopter traffic dangers and other problems, long before last year’s midair collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army Black Hawk, which killed 67 people near Washington, D.C.
The board heard hours of testimony from investigators who outlined their findings in the collision and subsequent crash near Reagan National Airport a year ago. Key themes emerged, including “overwhelmed” air traffic control, a failure to alert the jet’s pilot about the other aircraft and a history of missed opportunities to reroute helicopter traffic.
“I’m sorry for you, as these pages of these reports are written in your family members’ blood,” board member Todd Inman told the audience. “I’m sorry that we have to be here.”…