FAA administrator: 'Clearly, something was missed' that led to DC plane crash

WASHINGTON -- Acting Federal Aviation Administrator Chris Rocheleau admitted Thursday that "something was missed" regarding the devastating midair collision between an American Airlines plane and an Army helicopter that killed everyone on board both aircraft.

The National Transportation Safety Board said all of the data that shows the regular near misses and close proximity events at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) was publicly available data.

"Between October 2021 and December 2024 there were over 15,000 close proximity events between commercial aircraft and helicopters at DCA," NTSB Chairman Jennifer Homendy said as she and Rocheleau testified before the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation, Space and Innovation.

The crash happened on the night of Jan. 29 when the PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet with 64 people on board was about to land at Reagan. The three soldiers in the helicopter were conducting an annual training flight and night vision goggle check at the time of the collision.

Rocheleau faced tough questioning from senators Thursday over the lack of action taken by the FAA that could have prevented the crash based on the data available to the agency.

"Something was missed at the DCA crash. I take that seriously. I take that on myself," Rocheleau said at the hearing. "I returned to the FAA just two months ago and I care about the National Airspace System for safety and the workforce. I'm dedicated to continuing that work, and I will continue to review what I mentioned before with respect to the hot spots, working closely with NTSB to learn what happened here and to make sure it never happens again."

The FAA said it is now using AI and machine learning to evaluate all the data that comes in showing potential issues in U.S. airspace.

Rocheleau also announced that, effective immediately, almost all aircraft operating around Reagan and downtown D.C. must have their ADS-B Out aviation surveillance technology on -- with the exception of presidential helicopters or other high security sensitive missions. Helicopters like the one that crashed on Jan. 29 are now required to broadcast their position using ADS-B Out technology.

RELATED: DC plane crash: NTSB calls for immediate changes at Reagan airport

The NTSB also said it's looking at the Army's 12th Aviation Battalion's fleet of helicopters for installation programming and potential for equipment malfunction.

Homendy said there were 16 Lima models of Black Hawk in the fleet, including the helicopter involved in the crash. Eight had stopped transmitting ADS-B Out sometime between May and November 2023. Homendy said the NTSB did not know why they had stopped.

Senators pressed Army Brig. Gen. Matthew Braman on the Army helicopters operating in the DCA airspace without transmitting ADS-B Out data, leading to a fiery discussion between committee chair Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Braman, with Cruz demanding the Army release the memo to the committee within the next 24 hours.

"The Army has a memo August 9, 2024 entitled ADS-B Out Off Operations in the National Airspace. My staff requested that memo from you, and my understanding is your team declined to provide it," Cruz said. "That is also unacceptable. I want to ask you at this hearing, will you commit to providing that memo to this committee?"

Braman said he will look into if the memo can be released to the committee.

After Thursday's hearing, Homendy told reporters that the failure of oversight is not just on the FAA, but on the Army, as well.

Thursday's hearing also revealed that the false alarms that told pilots they were on a collision course with another plane while on approach to Reagan Airport earlier this month were caused by the Secret Service and the Navy improperly testing counter-drone technology, according to an exchange between Cruz and Rocheleau. The testing was being done on the same spectrum that the Traffic Collision Avoidance System in the cockpit uses. Cruz said the Secret Service and the Navy were warned not to use the same spectrum before the false alarm incidents.

The NTSB hopes to complete the investigation into the Reagan crash within a year, Homendy said at Thursday's hearing, noting that divers are still working to recover any remaining wreckage in the Potomac River.

The NTSB will interview the FAA cartographers about the mapping of the route around Reagan; Homendy said there was "virtually no margin of error" in the helicopter routes used around the airport.

Earlier this month, the NTSB called for immediate changes at Reagan, saying the current helicopter routes around the busy airport "pose an intolerable risk to aviation safety."

The NTSB recommended permanently banning helicopter operations near Reagan when runways 15 and 33 are in use and designating an alternative helicopter route for pilots. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy quickly said the Department of Transportation would follow the NTSB's recommendations.