The Senate Commerce Committee said it plans to hold a Feb. 12 hearing with National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy to examine the agency’s findings following the Jan. 2025 fatal midair collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. NTSB board members finalized their findings during an all-day public hearing last week. The accident over the Potomac River killed 67 people and marked the deadliest U.S. aviation accident since 2001.
The hearing is expected to focus on the NTSB’s determination that multiple systemic issues contributed to the accident, including airspace design and oversight practices involving the Federal Aviation Administration.
Lawmakers are also seeking momentum for the ROTOR Act, which has passed in the Senate and would introduces stricter requirements around ADS-B equipment installation and usage for many aircraft operators. Supporters say the act would improve tracking and oversight of aircraft operating near major airports. Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz told Reuters he expects the House to take up the measure, although progress there has recently stalled.
In its findings, the NTSB said the Jan. 2025 accident could have been avoided and cited the placement of helicopter routes near runway approach paths, reliance on visual separation and unresolved safety recommendations.
Homendy said air traffic controllers had raised concerns prior to the crash, and that the NTSB has made recommendations for years that have not been adopted could have helped prevent the accident.
“This was 100% preventable,” Homendy said. “We’ve issued recommendations in the past that were applicable here. We have talked about see and avoid for well over five decades.”
The Justice Department said in December that the federal government was liable for the crash based on the actions of the Army helicopter and an FAA air traffic controller.
According to the NTSB, it’s full final report will be published in the coming weeks.
A cruel accident waiting silently to happen… to the unsuspecting and unwilling…
The military has at least one military operation area (MOA) in each state. And is supposed to fly only in MOAs. Helicopter routes are for commercial aviation only. And the military should know this. Which means based on preliminary reports, the NTSB and the FAA are omitting this important piece of information. Who will tell them? The military must fly in their MOAs only, including helicopters, which are not to be used for transport in the US. Like the CIA, the military must stay within their MOAs or designed areas of use in the US. The denseness of this problem on the part of the military, the FAA, and the NTSB is dumbfounding. Who will get these people to wake up and start following statutes? And more important, get not only the FAA but the NTSB to read statutes before making pronouncements. Or, read the rules for the founding of MOAs, and subsequent MOAs, to get the full picture. I do not like saying it, but DAH!!!!
That seem to blame a controller for the accident. He was not flying either aircraft, merely overworked. It might have happened had the positions been better staffed. Under staffing was not his fault either.