Senators request independent review of questions raised by the DCA crash and other safety issues

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Rand Paul (R-Ky.), and Ranking Member Gary Peters (D-Mich.) led their Senate colleagues in sending a letter to the Acting Inspector General of the Department of Transportation (DOT OIG) and the Inspector General of the Department of the Army (Army OIG) requesting concurrent audits in response to the January 29^th midair collision between a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines 5342 near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) as well as ongoing coordination issues between the Army and DCA air traffic control.

The senators urged DOT OIG to evaluate the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) management of the DCA area and oversight of existing safety gaps. Additionally, the audit requested that the DOT OIG assess whether FAA’s decisions regarding airspace design failures and enforcement of ADS-B Out exemptions contributed to the accident at DCA.

The senators also asked Army OIG to review the Army’s coordination with FAA, pilot training and qualification standards, and the Army’s policy on ADS-B equipage, usage, and activation. The senators called for both audits to address whether improved FAA and Army procedures, communication systems, or adherence to existing protocols would increase aviation safety in the DCA airspace.

Previously, Senators Cruz and Cantwell sought out the Army’s August 9, 2024 memo titled “ADS-B Out Off Operations in the National Airspace,” which the Army initially refused to provide, hindering the Commerce Committee’s investigation of the DCA tragedy.

In?their letter to DOT OIG and Army OIG, the senators wrote:?

“On Tuesday, March 11, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a preliminary report regarding the January 29, 2025 collision between American Airlines flight 5342, operated by PSA Airlines, and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter, operated by The Army Aviation Brigade stationed at Davison Army Airfield at Fort Belvoir, Virginia that resulted in 67 fatalities. Along with the report, the NTSB released two urgent safety recommendations aimed at deconflicting fixed-wing and rotorcraft traffic in the National Capital Region (NCR). The NTSB also released data showing that from October 2021 through December 2024, there were 15,214 close proximity incidents between commercial aircraft and helicopters involving a lateral separation of less than one nautical mile and vertical separation of less than 400 feet.

“Despite these findings and the tragedy in January, on May 1, less than a week after resuming operations in the NCR, an Army Black Hawk helicopter flying a training mission to the Pentagon, also operated by The Army Aviation Brigade, aborted a landing at the Pentagon Heliport and caused DCA air traffic control to issue go-around orders to two commercial aircraft on final approach. The Army Aviation Brigade later suspended operations pending an internal review.

“Following the horrific accident at DCA that claimed 67 lives and the subsequent discovery of known safety gaps, we request that the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of the Army (Army OIG) and the Acting Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT OIG) initiate concurrent audits investigating the concerns noted below.

“The Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is tasked with ensuring the safety of United States airspace. The DOT OIG audit should assess the FAA’s oversight and management of existing aviation safety gaps, its analysis of data on loss of separation incidents, its design and management of airspace and flight routes around DCA, and should review the role and effectiveness of the DC Helicopter Working Group. The audit should also determine whether FAA’s decisions regarding airspace design failures contributed to the accident at DCA – including any FAA actions to reduce required separation margins – and assess FAA’s oversight and enforcement of ADS-B Out exemptions utilized by relevant Federal agencies to determine if such exemptions have been granted and used appropriately, particularly in Class B airspace.

“The Army OIG audit should address the Army’s coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration during NCR operations, pilot training and qualification standards in the NCR, the Army's policy on ADS-B equipage, usage, and activation, maintenance protocols for UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters operated by the Army Aviation Brigade, compliance with the Letter of Agreement between the Army and FAA regarding flight operations in the NCR, and the Army’s review of loss of separation incidents involving its rotorcraft in the NCR along with possible mitigations to prevent future mishaps. 

“Both audits should specifically address whether improved FAA and Army procedures, communication systems, or adherence to existing protocols would increase aviation safety in the NCR.”

Read the full text of this letter HERE.

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