The Washington Post
By Lori Aratani
Frustrated by a lack of safety improvements since 67 people died Jan. 29 in the midair collision of an Army helicopter and a passenger jet near Reagan National Airport, Democratic lawmakers are attempting to require that federal officials do a better job of managing dangers.
Senate Democrats introduced a bill that would limit instances in which helicopters, including those operated by the military, are allowed to switch off devices that make them easier to track. It also would require the Pentagon to share more details about safety incidents with the Federal Aviation Administration, including close calls between military and passenger flights.
Under the current system, the Army does not typically share details from its Aviation Safety Management Information System with the FAA except through Freedom of Information Act requests, a process that can take months or even years to navigate.
Another provision in the bill would require a review of the airspace around National Airport focused on how helicopter, drone and military flights affect passenger flights. The FAA declined to comment. The Defense Department did not comment directly on provisions in the legislation.
Sen. Maria Cantwell (Washington), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, said Congress should move more quickly to address concerns identified by federal investigators and the families of those killed in the collision. In the months that follow fatal crashes of two Boeing 737 Max jets, she recalled, she was part of a bipartisan effort to strengthen the FAA’s regulatory oversight of the company.
“Maybe it’s other priorities at the moment. I’m not sure, but people haven’t been ready to move ahead. And the families have been getting anxious that these accidents are becoming lost in people’s minds,” she told The Washington Post. “But it’s time to get off the bench.”
The investigation into the Jan. 29 collision is ongoing, but preliminary findings by the National Transportation Safety Board identified multiple system failures. For example, the Army helicopter had switched off safety technology known as ADS-B Out, which would have given air traffic controllers additional information about the aircraft’s position in the sky. Federal investigators also found that the FAA had failed to act on reports of more than 15,000 near misses involving aircraft in the corridor.
In the days after the collision, Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy temporarily restricted helicopter operations around National Airport, restrictions that were made permanent following after NTSB recommendations.
Still, several high-profile incidents have continued to stoke concerns. Last month, air traffic controllers ordered two passenger jets to abort landings at National to avoid an Army Black Hawk helicopter.
Some lawmakers have taken steps to close gaps identified by federal investigators involved in the Jan. 29 crash probe. In May, Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) introduced a bill that would require aircraft operating in high-volume airspace to use technology that broadcasts their position and allows them to “see” other aircraft. The Democrats’ bill includes a similar provision.
The regional American Airlines jet in the Jan. 29 crash was on final approach to National Airport from Wichita, in Moran’s home state. Moran is scheduled to hold a meeting on Wednesday with representatives from the NTSB, the Army and the FAA focused on recent near misses in the airspace around National.
The Democrats’ bill, whose sponsors include Sen. Tammy Duckworth (Illinois), Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota), Raphael G. Warnock (Georgia), Edward J. Markey (Mass.) and Virginia’s Tim Kaine and Mark R. Warner, is the broadest effort to date.
In a statement, families of Jan. 29 victims said the bill “marks a meaningful step forward in aviation safety — a cause that is no longer abstract for our families, but personal and deeply urgent,” and urged the Senate to move swiftly to pass the measure.
Whether Republicans, who hold the Senate majority, will get behind the effort remains unclear. The families also thanked Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who chairs the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, for his leadership on aviation safety. Cruz did not respond to a request for comment on the Cantwell bill. Moran, who chairs the aviation subcommittee, also did not respond to a request for comment on the legislation.