U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, gave opening remarks at a hearing focused on the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) final report regarding the January 29, 2025 mid-air collision near DCA Airport. The incident resulted in 67 fatalities when an Army helicopter collided with American Airlines Flight 5342. NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy testified before the committee about the findings.
Senator Cantwell began by emphasizing the significance of the hearing and described it as a culmination of years of work to obtain a clear report on failures within the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). She referenced past aviation tragedies such as the Colgan Air crash and acknowledged families affected by these incidents for their advocacy.
Cantwell also discussed a recent incident in El Paso, highlighting ongoing issues with interagency coordination between the FAA and Department of Defense (DOD). She stated: “If we can get into this kind of conflict where the FAA is saying that we're going to shut down airspace for 10 days, and then another agency is saying something different...it just seems to me that we have a real problem of coordination between DOD and FAA.”
She thanked Chairwoman Homendy and her team for their investigation into last year’s crash at DCA. “The loss of 67 souls when an Army helicopter collided with American Airlines [Flight] 5342 has weighed heavily on many of us, but certainly the families who are most affected. Our hearts go out to you,” Cantwell said.
Cantwell noted that family members were present at the hearing and credited them for supporting efforts like the ROTOR Act aimed at improving aviation safety oversight. She commended NTSB staff for providing answers to families impacted by aviation accidents.
“These answers demonstrate that this tragedy was a result of many systematic failures, and that [they] failed everyone on Flight 5342 and the Army helicopter and the air traffic controllers,” she said. Cantwell cited multiple previous near misses involving commercial airlines and military flights as evidence of broader systemic problems.
She raised concerns about reliance on pilots’ ability to “see and avoid” other aircraft in congested airspace around Washington, D.C., stating: “The NTSB found these practices created an unacceptable risk, especially without...ADS-B In and ADS-B Out.” Cantwell explained that despite repeated recommendations over two decades for mandatory adoption of these technologies, implementation remains incomplete.
The senator pointed out that both FAA and Army had access to data warning about increased risks prior to last year’s collision but did not act effectively. She criticized what she described as superficial application of Safety Management Systems (SMS) within federal agencies responsible for aviation safety.
“While the FAA has mandated SMS...if you don't have a real SMS, then it really doesn't stop to fix the safety concerns,” Cantwell remarked.
She concluded by voicing support for further legislative action including passage of the ROTOR Act. “This is critical legislation that will help now...because this sequence of events and events at El Paso show us that we have real communication issues, and we must do our oversight role.”
The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee serves as a standing committee within Congress focusing on commerce, science, transportation policy matters including oversight related to incidents such as those discussed during this hearing (official website). The committee includes senators from both parties under leadership from its chairman (official website), meets in Washington D.C., specifically in Russell Senate Office Building (official website), reviews relevant legislation during congressional sessions (official website), addresses interstate commerce policies (official website), and promotes legislative solutions in its jurisdiction (official website).
