NTSB to release radar data from fatal Washington helicopter, plane collision

Data retrieved from an investigation into a collision last week between an American Airlines regional passenger jet and a U.S. Army helicopter over the Potomac River in Washington that killed 67 people will be released on Monday, National Transportation Safety Board Chair ​​​​​​​​Jennifer Homendy told Reuters. "We have much more granular data from Potomac Tracon that we're going to be able to release," Homendy said, referring to a Federal Aviation Administration terminal radar approach facility in Virginia. The Army Corps of Engineers on Monday began lifting the wreckage from the river, which officials have said could take a week or longer. Wreckage is being moved to a hangar at Washington Reagan National Airport. Much of the Potomac River remains restricted to authorized vessels. Two of the lesser-used runways at the airport remain closed. Homendy said the NTSB also plans to look at prior near-miss incidents between helicopters and airplanes around Washington Reagan and could expand the investigation "to other areas where's there's military helicopter and air traffic." She said the NTSB could complete interviews with air traffic control personnel on Monday and is conducting interviews with American Airlines and the U.S. Army on the operations side. "We're going to have to understand what are standard operating procedures" for a helicopter training mission, she said.<br/>