Army finds systemic failures behind DC midair collision and calls for safety fixes

The U.S. Army says it found systemic failures behind last year’s midair collision near Washington, D.C., involving an American Airlines jet and a Black Hawk helicopter, and it recommended multiple safety steps to prevent similar tragedies. The Army did not release the full report publicly, but shared it late last week with families of the 67 people killed, with the Associated Press obtaining a copy Thursday. The Army report largely reinforces the National Transportation Safety Board’s findings, while expanding on how missed warning signs accumulated, including issues involving radio transmissions. The report identifies two broken radio transmissions as the most salient contributing factor.