Senate leadership is continuing to step up safety oversight in the aftermath of the January 29 midair collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (KDCA). Members on both sides of the aisle are calling for an independent review of airspace safety and a Democrat contingent is offering a bill to address concerns stemming from the crash.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and ranking member Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), along with Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) and ranking member Gary Peters (D-Michigan), led a contingent of two dozen Senators that sent a letter yesterday seeking concurrent inspector general audits within the Department of Transportation (DOT OIG) and the U.S. Army.
The lawmakers requested that the DOT OIG investigate the FAA’s management of the KDCA area, including its oversight of safety gaps, as well as the agency’s decisions regarding airspace design failures and the enforcement of ADS-B Out exemptions. In addition, the senators are seeking an Army OIG review of its coordination with the FAA, pilot training and qualification standards, and policies on ADS-B equipage, usage, and activation. Both audits additionally should look into the respective procedures, communications, and protocols, the senators said.
In March, the NTSB issued two urgent safety recommendations to deconflict airplane and rotorcraft traffic in the National Capital Region (NCR). It released data pointing to 15,214 close-proximity incidents between commercial aircraft and helicopters between October 2021 and December 2024.
“Despite these findings and the tragedy in January, on May 1, less than a week after resuming operations in the NCR, an Army Black Hawk helicopter flying a training mission to the Pentagon, also operated by The Army Aviation Brigade, aborted a landing at the Pentagon Heliport and caused [KDCA] air traffic control to issue go-around orders to two commercial aircraft on final approach,” the lawmakers pointed out in requesting the audits.
Separately, seven Senate Democrats, led by Cantwell and aviation subcommittee ranking member Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois), introduced the Safe Operation of Shared Airspace Act of 2025 to address many of the issues that have already surfaced in the accident’s aftermath.
The lawmakers maintained that the crash has exposed multiple system failures, from Army Black Hawks not transmitting ADS-B signals and unsafe route design for mixed traffic to a lack of FAA and Defense Department (DOD) coordination.
In addition to those concerns, the bill is also designed to address long-term air traffic controller shortages, FAA internal safety management systems, and the need for important post-accident safety reviews.
“It’s time for Congress to get off the bench and solve the problems the NTSB identified because the families deserve action,” Cantwell said. “The DCA tragedy claimed 67 lives and exposed critical gaps in aviation safety oversight—over 15,000 near-misses should have been a glaring warning sign. This legislation closes dangerous loopholes that allowed aircraft to operate without essential safety technology, mandates modern surveillance systems that enhance pilot awareness of nearby aircraft, and ensures the FAA finally acts on the data instead of ignoring it.”
More specifically, the bill ends certain exemptions that the DOD has relied on to turn off ADS-B Out near KDCA and other busy airports. It would further expand the use of ADS-B with mainline and regional airlines. Other measures would mandate a safety review of airspace management around busy airports, with a priority on those with mixed flight traffic. The bill further calls for a review of the FAA’s safety management system across the board and would mandate an automatic Transport Airplane Risk Assessment Methodology analysis after any major, fatal airline crash, regardless of whether the crash was linked to aircraft design or a manufacturing issue.
On the staffing front, the bill would codify the FAA’s Enhanced Air Traffic-Collegiate Training program, targeting 15 participating schools, and protect the FAA from hiring freezes or voluntary buyout programs.
In addition, the bill would expand the FAA’s aviation medical examiner team, create a controller instructor recruitment program, and establish an FAA Oversight Office for Military Aviation Coordination as well as a joint FAA-DOD Council on ADS-B. Also further fostering coordination, it would require aviation safety data sharing between DOD and the FAA.
Supporting the legislation were Tim and Sheri Lilley, parents of first officer Sam Lilley, who was aboard the CRJ-700 involved in the collision. “By introducing legislation today, [Cantwell is] generating significant momentum around an issue that is deeply personal to our family and critical to every passenger, pilot, and crew member in this country,” they said in a joint statement. “This bill addresses many of the systemic failures that contributed to the mid-air tragedy, including requiring a safety review of DCA and other crowded U.S. airspace, as well as improving coordination and data sharing between the FAA and military operators.”
Also backing the bill is Air Line Pilots Association president James Ambrosi. “We commend Senator Cantwell for her leadership in enhancing aviation safety by requiring the use of ADS-B In for air carrier operations and implementing stronger ADS-B Out requirements to give pilots greater situational awareness,” Ambrosi said. “In the wake of the DCA accident, we should use every tool available to prevent additional tragedies. This and other recent incidents have demonstrated the need for providing operators and controllers with additional resources to help delivering passengers and cargo safely, to review safety at DCA and other airports with high-density air traffic operations, and force the FAA and the DOD to jointly mitigate risk in the National Airspace System."