The Department of Transportation Office of the Inspector General (DOT OIG) has announced it will conduct a safety audit focused on the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) oversight of airspace at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). The move follows a letter sent in June by Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who requested concurrent safety audits from both DOT’s Acting Inspector General and the Army Inspector General. Their request was prompted by a mid-air collision that occurred on January 29 and ongoing coordination issues between the Army and DCA air traffic control. According to the announcement, the Army has so far declined to conduct its own audit.
"This DOT Inspector General audit will demand answers about why the FAA ignored over 15,000 dangerous helicopter incidents and allowed military aircraft to fly without critical safety equipment in DCA's congested airspace,” Sen. Cantwell said. “It's time for the Army IG to step up and launch their own audit."
In their June 9 letter, Cantwell and Cruz called for an examination into whether FAA decisions regarding airspace design contributed to the DCA accident. They also asked auditors to assess how FAA oversees exemptions from Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Out (ADS-B Out) requirements used by federal agencies in Class B airspace.
Senator Cantwell has played a central role in investigating the January 29 collision through her position on the Commerce Committee. She has advocated for permanent helicopter restrictions near DCA and, on March 7, sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth seeking clarification about Department of Defense aircraft operations in the National Capital Region without ADS-B Out transmitting capabilities. On June 5, she introduced legislation titled Safe Operation of Shared Airspace Act of 2025 aimed at addressing safety concerns following the collision.
Cantwell’s involvement with aviation safety extends beyond this incident. Under her leadership as Chair of the Committee, Congress passed the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2024 with strong bipartisan support; it was later signed into law. A key focus of this reauthorization was increasing staffing levels for critical FAA safety roles such as air traffic controllers. In addition, Cantwell sponsored significant legislation in 2020—the Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act—which strengthened FAA oversight over aircraft manufacturers and required new measures such as independent expert panels reviewing manufacturer safety processes.
