The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will admit that it failed to address warning signs leading up to the mid-air collision between an American Airlines regional jet and an Army helicopter that killed 67 people at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in January 2025.
"Our airspace system was providing warning signals prior to that tragic evening. The issue was not a lack of data—it was a failure to translate that data into action," FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford will tell a U.S. Senate Commerce subcommittee in written testimony on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
"That is the gap we are urgently closing."
Bedford will also tell lawmakers that the agency is taking action through reorganization "that includes streamlining leadership roles (and) eliminating silos which hinder transparency and information sharing."
All of this comes months after the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) attributed the accident to several system failures by the FAA.
Since 2021, there have been as many as 15,200 air separation incidents involving commercial aircraft and helicopters near Reagan National, including 85 close-call events.
The FAA implemented new safety measures in March to address a handful of near-miss events at airports nationwide, but is still pushing for more funding—$10 billion to be exact—to overhaul its outdated air traffic controller systems and improve overall safety in U.S. skies.
According to Bedford, "With more than 18,000,000 flights managed and over one billion passenger movements traveling across our skies annually, our current system has reached its limits."
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
