(NewsNation) — The family of the four people who died in a January collision between a Black Hawk military helicopter and an American Airlines passenger jet said conditions that led to the accident were not “isolated” and “entirely preventable” ahead of an investigative hearing Wednesday.
“What we’ve seen since is that there have been multiple reports of aviation mishaps. There have been multiple reports of near misses involving military aircraft and civilian aircraft. It is shocking that this continues to go on,” said Rachel Feres, who lost her cousin Peter Livingston, his wife Donna and their two daughters: Everly, 14, and Alydia, 11.
“This problem hasn’t been solved, and there is real urgency in solving it,” she added.
The remarks come one day before the National Transport Safety Board is set to hold an investigative hearing into the Jan. 29 mid-air collision that killed 67 people over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Family wants ‘clearer picture’ of what happened in deadly DC plane crash
The NTSB hearing is expected to last three days and will examine factual reports, transcripts of the cockpit voice recorders for both aircraft, photographs and other investigative materials in an effort to pinpoint what went wrong.
“We are nervous about it, but also kind of eerily awaiting what comes out of them,” Amy Hunter, another cousin of Livingston, said.
The agency had recovered all flight data recorders and pulled the wreckage of both aircraft from the Potomac.
Our family is looking forward to getting a clearer picture of what happened the night of the crash, Feres said, adding that “human error occurred in an environment of unacceptable risk.”
The family detailed several systemic issues that created the perfect storm for the collision, including a breakdown in communication procedures between the US Army, the Federal Aviation Agency, and the air traffic control tower.
There was also a breakdown in evaluating the risk of sending a helicopter crew with three members into crowded civilian airspace wearing night-vision goggles, Feres said.
Investigators said earlier that the helicopter crew was wearing goggles that would have limited their peripheral vision.
NTSB officials have said the FAA failed to recognize a concerning pattern after there were 85 near misses in Washington airspace in just three years. The FAA has since banned some helicopter routes to make sure helicopters and planes no longer share the same airspace, but there have still been additional near misses in recent months.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has said he will follow the NTSB recommendations and promised to use artificial intelligence to review all the data to make sure similar dangers don’t exist at other airports.
“The breakdown here was that these risk factors were out there. The data was there. It wasn’t being analyzed. That’s what makes this preventable,” Feres said. “I think an absolute tragedy that would compound what has already happened would be for folks to think that this is an isolated incident that is unique to DC. I don’t believe that.”
“I believe we need to do a better job across our national airspace, ensuring that the area around every airport is safe.”
DC plane crash lawsuits are coming
Justin Green, an attorney who represents the families of 31 people who were killed in the collision, including the Livingston family, said no lawsuits have been filed yet, but they are likely coming in August and then over the next six months.
There is a waiting period after filing a notice of claim, which about 90% of victims’ families have already done, he said.
A lawsuit cannot be filed until either the government denies the claim or six months go by, he added. Thus far, the government hasn’t denied any claims, he said.
Green, who is also a former Marine Corps tech helicopter pilot, said the hearings will be crucial to the advocacy the families are doing.
“We want to get to every risk factor that caused this accident and make sure that this doesn’t happen, not just in DC, but anywhere in the country,” he said.
Six months of grief following DC plane crash
The last six months have been constant “missed firsts,” the cousins said.
“The first Father’s Day without Peter, the first birthday where people are missing. All of those things are happening this year, and that’s a very challenging thing to work through,” Feres said.
The Livingston family was heading home to Virginia after their daughters attended an ice skating camp in Wichita, Kansas, for young Olympic hopefuls.
Hunter said the last months have been a “rollercoaster of ups and downs,” but their goal now is to turn grief into advocacy, especially since no one from their cousin’s family is left to speak up for them.
Hunter said they have gotten an outpouring of support from lawmakers who have joined forces from both sides of the aisle.
Members of the transportation committee, including Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who chairs the committee and ranking member Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, have reached out, she said.
“We’ve had a lot of support and open doors from everybody, a ton of support from the staffers that work on the hill, and we’re very appreciative of it, and we expect that that will continue,” Hunter said.