PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Investigators say it could take years to discover what caused a passenger jet to collide with an army helicopter at Ronald Reagan National Airport on Wednesday.
“In this instance, there is potential the air traffic controller made a mistake, so the Federal Aviation Administration could be a liable party because they employ the air traffic controllers,” said John Gagliano, an aviation attorney who has been a pilot for nearly three decades.
The National Transportation Safety Board, an independent federal agency, is leading the investigation, but other agencies, like the FAA, American Airlines and the military have a stake as well. They will provide information including insight into their technologies, protocols and personnel files.
“They will be able to pinpoint the likely initial point of impact where the helicopter and plane hit each other,” Gagliano said.
Gagliano says the entire operation is exhaustive — combing through the wreckage, subpoenaing witnesses, all to understand the sequence of events that led to the collision.
He says it could take two years or more before a final report is released.