U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, along with Ranking Member Maria Cantwell, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Rand Paul, and Ranking Member Gary Peters, have formally requested audits following a midair collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). The incident involved a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines flight 5342 on January 29th.
The senators sent 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), urging them to conduct concurrent audits. These audits are intended to evaluate ongoing safety issues in DCA's airspace and coordination between the Army and DCA air traffic control.
The DOT OIG has been asked to assess the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) management of safety gaps in the DCA area. The audit will also examine FAA’s decisions related to airspace design failures and ADS-B Out exemptions that may have contributed to the accident.
In addition, Army OIG is tasked with reviewing its coordination with FAA, pilot training standards, and policies on ADS-B equipage. Both audits aim to determine if improvements in procedures or communication systems could enhance aviation safety at DCA.
Previously, Senators Cruz and Cantwell encountered difficulties obtaining an August 2024 memo from the Army regarding "ADS-B Out Off Operations," which delayed their investigation into the crash.
In their letter, they highlighted findings from a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), released on March 11. This report detailed close proximity incidents involving commercial aircraft and helicopters between October 2021 and December 2024. Following these findings, an Army Black Hawk helicopter had another incident on May 1st when it aborted a landing at the Pentagon Heliport.
The senators' request emphasizes that both DOT OIG and Army OIG should address whether enhanced procedures could improve safety in this critical airspace region.
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