That was a key factor in the crash along with air traffic overly relying on asking helicopter pilots to avoid aircraft. Victims’ families say they hope there’s meaningful change in response to the long list of recommendations the NTSB adopted Tuesday. NTSB also recommends adjusting collision avoidance systems to direct pilots to take evasive action closer to the ground. Investigators said controllers in the Reagan tower overly relied on asking pilots to spot aircraft and maintain visual separation. However, the investigation has shown that the helicopter pilots likely never spotted the American Airlines plane as the jet circled to land on the little-used secondary runway.