WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) entered its final day of hearings on the midair collision between an American Airlines jet and a military helicopter over Reagan National Airport.
Friday’s testimony included discussions about collision avoidance technology and human factors, such as pilots’ awareness and decision-making regarding airborne traffic.
Steve Casner, Ph.D., a researcher of human factors in aviation, emphasized the complexity of flying an aircraft.
“There’s so many things to look at when flying an aircraft, you have, the internal scene instruments, the external scene, many things to think about. There’s just a lot going on. And again, we have that ability. Don’t look at and think about one thing at a time,” he said.
The hearing presented details from a study highlighting pilots’ reliance on accurate communication from air traffic control to maintain situational awareness.
The NTSB’s investigative hearing aimed to gather the “information necessary to determine the facts and circumstances” of the accident.
