Cantwell to FAA as NTSB Hearing Concludes: You Must Listen. You must Lead.
This morning, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, joined MSNBC’s Morning Joe to discuss the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) investigative hearing into the January 29, 2025 mid-air collision between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines flight 5342 near DCA that took the lives of 67 people. The 3-day hearing – which concludes today – has revealed massive failures by FAA leaders to listen to and act on safety warnings from its own front-line employees.
Cantwell Says FAA Must “Do Its Job” During Interview with CNN’s Jim Sciutto on Day Two of NTSB Hearing
During an interview with CNN’s Jim Sciutto last night, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, had a straightforward message for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA): Do its job. Her comments came near the end of the second day of the three-day National Transportation Safety Board NTSB investigative hearing into the January 29, 2025 mid-air collision between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines flight 5342 near DCA that took the lives of 67 people. The hearing has revealed massive failures by FAA leaders to listen to and act on safety warnings that, unaddressed, could lead to a deadly collision.
Ranking Member Cantwell Delivers Opening Statement at Hearing for Three Department of Transportation Nominees
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, delivered the following opening remarks at today’s hearing on three Department of Transportation (DOT) nominees: Gregory Zerzan, to be General Counsel of DOT; Michael Rutherford, to be Assistant Secretary for the Office of Multimodal Freight Infrastructure and Policy; and Seval Oz, to be Assistant Secretary for the Office of Research and Technology.
Cantwell Statement Opposing Bryan Bedford for FAA Administrator
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ahead of today’s Senate vote on the confirmation of Bryan Bedford, President Trump’s nominee to lead the Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, released the following statement:
Aviation Safety Leaders Whitaker, Sullenberger, Thomson Denounce Republican Spectrum Auction Plans That Put Public Safety at Risk
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, former FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker, safety expert Captain “Sully” Sullenberger and former Deputy FAA Administrator Katie Thomson spoke out against Chair Cruz’s reconciliation proposal to auction 800mhz of spectrum, including spectrum immediately adjacent to bands used by radio altimeters for commercial and military aircraft. Radio altimeters provide pilots with precise altitude readings during takeoff and landing, particularly in low-visibility conditions. When similar spectrum was auctioned in 2020, 5G deployment caused flight cancellations, forced 600 5G towers to go dark on launch day and left over 1,000 aircraft restricted from certain landings.
Cantwell Votes ‘No’ on Bryan Bedford’s Nomination to Lead FAA
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and all Committee Democrats voted against the nomination of Bryan Bedford to serve as Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.
Cantwell Will Oppose Bryan Bedford to Lead FAA
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, announced today she will oppose the nomination of Bryan Bedford to serve as Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.
Cantwell Grills FAA Nominee on Key Aviation Safety Measures
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, Ranking Member of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, grilled Trump’s nominee to serve as Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, Bryan Bedford, on his failure to commit not to weaken the 1,500-hour pilot training rule if confirmed. Bedford spearheaded the lobbying effort against the safety rule enacted after the tragic 2009 Colgan Air Flight 3407 crash that killed 49 people, and as CEO of Republic Airways, petitioned the FAA for an exemption from it. Sen. Cantwell also pressed Bedford to confirm his concerns that Republicans’ spectrum auction plan would threaten aviation safety.
Cantwell, Cruz Lead Call for Audits of DCA Airspace Safety Issues
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) were joined by U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Ranking Member Gary Peters (D-Mich.), all Democratic members of the Committee and several Republican members in sending a letter to Acting Inspector General of the Department of Transportation (DOT OIG) Mitch Behm and Inspector General of the Department of the Army (Army OIG) Lieutenant General Gregory J. Brady requesting concurrent safety audits in response to the January 29th mid-air collision near National Airport (DCA), as well as ongoing coordination issues between the Army and DCA air traffic control.
In Wake of DCA Collision Tragedy, Senators Cantwell, Duckworth, Klobuchar, Warnock, Kaine, Warner and Markey Introduce the Safe Operation of Shared Airspace Act of 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Aviation, Space, and Innovation, Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) introduced the Safe Operation of Shared Airspace Act of 2025 to strengthen aviation safety at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), airports across the nation, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This bill is the first comprehensive aviation safety legislation responding to the January 29, 2025 collision between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and a regional commercial jet operating as American Airlines flight 5342 near DCA that took the lives of 67 people.