Senate To Press FAA On DCA Crash Safety Changes

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford is expected to face sharp questions from senators May 19 after investigators concluded longstanding FAA oversight failures contributed to the deadly 2025 midair collision near Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) that killed 67 people.

Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), chairman of the Senate Aviation Subcommittee, said FAA officials will testify on safety measures implemented following National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommendations tied to the crash.

The January 2025 accident—an American Airlines regional jet colliding with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near DCA—became the deadliest U.S. airline accident in more than two decades. The NTSB’s final report sharply criticized the FAA, citing what investigators described as systemic oversight failures involving helicopter traffic routes, airspace management, and reliance on visual separation procedures.

According to Reuters, Bedford is expected to face questions over why these longstanding safety concerns were not addressed sooner. Investigators found the FAA had accumulated years of data showing repeated close calls and airspace conflicts in the area but failed to implement meaningful corrective action.

“In just the three years before the mid-air collision, there were over 15,000 near misses,” said Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas). “Aviation safety requires not just a competent and vigilant FAA, but reforms that help pilots, too. The ROTOR Act, which has overwhelmingly bipartisan support, ensures pilots can see and be seen by all aircraft in both daylight and darkness. It is the commonsense aviation reform the system desperately needs.” 

The hearing will also examine steps the FAA has taken since the crash. Following the accident, the agency imposed new operational restrictions around DCA, revised helicopter routing procedures and launched additional reviews of controller workload and separation standards. The FAA has said safety remains its top priority and that it has already begun implementing several NTSB recommendations.

NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy previously testified that the accident reflected deeper cultural and procedural problems inside the FAA’s air traffic organization.