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Tag: Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport

  • House considers bill that some say would have prevented deadly DC midair collision

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    The House of Representatives is set to consider whether a collision avoidance system that supporters say could have prevented last year’s deadly midair collision near Washington should be required on every plane in the U.S.Sixty-seven people were killed on Jan. 29, 2025, when a U.S. Army helicopter on a training flight collided with an American Airlines regional jet, operated by PSA Airlines, as it was landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.Most aircraft are already required to automatically send out signals known as ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast), which include their location and other data so they can be tracked. The American regional plane was sending out the signal, but Army helicopters did not transmit the data. Neither pilot was able to receive information from the other because their aircraft were only equipped to transmit, not receive, ADS-B information.The ROTOR Act, introduced in the Senate last year, would require all aircraft transmitting to also receive ADS-B data, called “ADS-B In,” so pilots could use it to look for other aircraft.“It is clear from our investigation that had the crew had ADS-B In flight 5342 would have had a 59 second alert versus the 19 seconds they had … which was ineffective in preventing the crash,” National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy told CNN Monday.The bill would also require military aircraft to use ADS-B to transmit their location in most situations, including during training flights, which the Department of Defense currently opposes.A House committee is proposing a competing bill, called the ALERT Act, which it says is a wide-ranging measure to address all 50 issues the NTSB brought up in its report.“The best way to serve and honor the victims and their families is by thoughtfully addressing the broad range of safety issues raised by the now-complete accident investigation, and that’s just what the ALERT Act does,” said House transportation committee chair Sam Graves, a Missouri Republican. “The ROTOR Act touches on only two of the NTSB’s 50 recommendations and provides an overly prescriptive approach to mandating a specific technology, which is still largely under development, in a manner that can prove burdensome to some operators and create barriers to its adoption.”But the NTSB says many of the measures fall short of addressing their concerns.“We stand ready to work with the House but saying that they implement our recommendations right now is completely false. It does not implement our recommendations in many, many areas,” Homendy said. “Claiming falsely that they implement our recommendations is not right and that does make me angry.”The ALERT Act, would not require ADS-B on every aircraft, specifically having a rulemaking committee look at “collision mitigation” technology and would exempt many aircraft, like those commonly flown by private pilots.The act also requires some aircraft be equipped with technology “capable” of receiving ADS-B transmissions, but does not require they actually to use it.Military aircraft under the ALERT Act would also be allowed to fly without broadcasting their location. The House committee proposing the ALERT Act, says it is a wide-ranging bill that addresses all 50 of issues the NTSB brought up in its report.Homendy said she hopes the committee will work with the NTSB to make the changes needed to improve the ALERT Act, but it does not work in its current form.“Congress can pass ROTOR, and then we can take up jointly all the other recommendations for the House to address,” she said.A group of families of passengers killed in the collision said they could not support the ALERT Act as written because it doesn’t mandate ADS-B In and it gives the secretary of defense sole authority to decide whether to install safety technology on military aircraft, among other issues.“Sixty-seven families are watching,” the statement read. “Do not allow a bill that was introduced (Feb. 20) to become the reason the House fails to act on a bill the Senate passed unanimously thirteen months after the deadliest aviation disaster in a generation.”

    WASHINGTON —

    The House of Representatives is set to consider whether a collision avoidance system that supporters say could have prevented last year’s deadly midair collision near Washington should be required on every plane in the U.S.

    Sixty-seven people were killed on Jan. 29, 2025, when a U.S. Army helicopter on a training flight collided with an American Airlines regional jet, operated by PSA Airlines, as it was landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

    Most aircraft are already required to automatically send out signals known as ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast), which include their location and other data so they can be tracked. The American regional plane was sending out the signal, but Army helicopters did not transmit the data. Neither pilot was able to receive information from the other because their aircraft were only equipped to transmit, not receive, ADS-B information.

    The ROTOR Act, introduced in the Senate last year, would require all aircraft transmitting to also receive ADS-B data, called “ADS-B In,” so pilots could use it to look for other aircraft.

    “It is clear from our investigation that had the crew had ADS-B In flight 5342 would have had a 59 second alert versus the 19 seconds they had … which was ineffective in preventing the crash,” National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy told CNN Monday.

    The bill would also require military aircraft to use ADS-B to transmit their location in most situations, including during training flights, which the Department of Defense currently opposes.

    A House committee is proposing a competing bill, called the ALERT Act, which it says is a wide-ranging measure to address all 50 issues the NTSB brought up in its report.

    “The best way to serve and honor the victims and their families is by thoughtfully addressing the broad range of safety issues raised by the now-complete accident investigation, and that’s just what the ALERT Act does,” said House transportation committee chair Sam Graves, a Missouri Republican. “The ROTOR Act touches on only two of the NTSB’s 50 recommendations and provides an overly prescriptive approach to mandating a specific technology, which is still largely under development, in a manner that can prove burdensome to some operators and create barriers to its adoption.”

    But the NTSB says many of the measures fall short of addressing their concerns.

    “We stand ready to work with the House but saying that they implement our recommendations right now is completely false. It does not implement our recommendations in many, many areas,” Homendy said. “Claiming falsely that they implement our recommendations is not right and that does make me angry.”

    The ALERT Act, would not require ADS-B on every aircraft, specifically having a rulemaking committee look at “collision mitigation” technology and would exempt many aircraft, like those commonly flown by private pilots.

    The act also requires some aircraft be equipped with technology “capable” of receiving ADS-B transmissions, but does not require they actually to use it.

    Military aircraft under the ALERT Act would also be allowed to fly without broadcasting their location. The House committee proposing the ALERT Act, says it is a wide-ranging bill that addresses all 50 of issues the NTSB brought up in its report.

    Homendy said she hopes the committee will work with the NTSB to make the changes needed to improve the ALERT Act, but it does not work in its current form.

    “Congress can pass ROTOR, and then we can take up jointly all the other recommendations for the House to address,” she said.

    A group of families of passengers killed in the collision said they could not support the ALERT Act as written because it doesn’t mandate ADS-B In and it gives the secretary of defense sole authority to decide whether to install safety technology on military aircraft, among other issues.

    “Sixty-seven families are watching,” the statement read. “Do not allow a bill that was introduced (Feb. 20) to become the reason the House fails to act on a bill the Senate passed unanimously thirteen months after the deadliest aviation disaster in a generation.”

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  • U.S. government admits fault in midair collision that killed 67 people near D.C. airport

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    The U.S. government admitted in a court filing Wednesday that it was partially at fault in a midair collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter that killed 67 people earlier this year.

    In the 209-page filing by the Justice Department, government lawyers wrote that the U.S. “admits that it owed a duty of care to Plaintiffs, which it breached, thereby proximately causing the tragic accident on January 29, 2025.”

    The filing states that the crew of the Army Black Hawk helicopter — which was conducting a training mission with night-vision goggles on the night of the crash — failed to establish and maintain proper and safe visual separation with a regional American Eagle flight that was approaching runway 33 at Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C. American Eagle and PSA Airlines are subsidiaries of American Airlines.

    The Army Black Hawk helicopter pilots “failed to maintain vigilance so as to see and avoid other aircraft and their failure was a cause-infact and proximate cause of the accident,” the filing states. 

    It was the deadliest plane crash in the U.S. since November 2001. 

    The Justice Department also identified an air traffic controller in the DCA tower as partially to blame for the accident, arguing the controller “negligently violated” a Federal Aviation Administration order by “failing to follow the procedures for visual separation” between the helicopter and passenger jet.

    At the time of the accident, there was one controller managing helicopter traffic in the area and departures and arrivals at DCA, according to multiple sources. 

    The extraordinary revelation by the U.S. government was in response to a lawsuit filed by the family of Casey Crafton, one of the passengers on the jetliner.

    Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation into the deadly crash is still ongoing. The final results of the investigation and recommendations were expected before the anniversary of the crash. 

    Tim and Sheri Lilley, the parents of First Officer Sam Lilley, who was in the cockpit of American Eagle Flight No. 5342 the night of the crash, maintain their son did everything right leading up to the collision. 

    “We stand by the facts presented at the NTSB’s investigative hearing, which confirmed that AA5342 Captain Jonathan Campos and our son, First Officer Sam Lilley, complied with all required federal procedures and industry-standard operating practices,” the Lilleys wrote.

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  • Widow of D.C. plane crash victim files wrongful death lawsuit against government, airlines

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    The widow of one of the victims of the deadly midair collision near Ronald Reagan National Airport in January has filed a lawsuit against the federal government and two airlines for the crash. CBS News senior transportation correspondent Kris Van Cleave has the details.

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  • Congress to add flights at Washington National, require new air refund rule in FAA deal – WTOP News

    Congress to add flights at Washington National, require new air refund rule in FAA deal – WTOP News

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    A $105 billion bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration for five years ahead of a May 10 deadline would raise hiring targets for air traffic control and would codify in law a rule the Biden administration introduced this month requiring airlines to offer refunds for canceled or significantly delayed flights, among other consumer-focused provisions.

    This article was reprinted with permission from Virginia Mercury. 

    Key members of Congress announced an agreement Monday on a $105 billion bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration for five years ahead of a May 10 deadline.

    The 1,000-page bill would raise hiring targets for air traffic control and would codify in law a rule the Biden administration introduced this month requiring airlines to offer refunds for canceled or significantly delayed flights, among other consumer-focused provisions.

    The legislation also would add flights to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, despite opposition from U.S. senators from Virginia and Maryland who said in a letter Monday the move would hurt safety efforts.

    The compromise measure was negotiated by U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Chair Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington state, and ranking Republican Ted Cruz of Texas and U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Chair Sam Graves, a Missouri Republican, and ranking Democrat Rick Larsen, a Washington Democrat.

    The four lawmakers released a joint statement announcing the agreement early Monday praising their “bipartisan, bicameral, comprehensive agreement.”

    “The American people deserve nothing less than the safest and most efficient aerospace system in the world, and to that end, our bill provides critical safety enhancements, grows America’s aviation workforce, invests in infrastructure at airports of all sizes, sets clear priorities for advancing innovative aviation solutions, improves the flying public’s travel experience, and ensures a healthy general aviation sector for years to come,” the lawmakers said.

    The bill would authorize $66.7 billion to fund key safety programs such as aircraft safety certification and the hiring of air traffic controllers and technical engineers. It would also authorize $19.35 billion for infrastructure improvements. It would more than double annual funding for the Essential Air Service program that subsidizes flights to small rural airports.

    No votes have been scheduled in either chamber on the measure, which President Joe Biden must sign by midnight on May 10 to avoid a lapse in FAA authority.

    Washington National Airport

    With endorsements from committee leaders on both sides of the aisle, the bill should have broad bipartisan appeal in both chambers of Congress.

    But senators from the states bordering Washington, D.C., said Monday they opposed the provision adding five incoming and five outgoing flights to Washington’s Reagan National Airport, or DCA, located in Northern Virginia just across the Potomac River.

    In a statement, Democratic Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia and Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland vowed to “continue to fight against this ridiculous and dangerous provision.”

    Two planes cleared to take off from the busy airport came within 400 feet of crashing in an April 18 incident. The near-miss should have underscored the crowded conditions at DCA, which, as the closest airport to the Capitol, is a favorite of members of Congress, the senators wrote.

    Committee members, none of whom are from the area, “decided to ignore the flashing red warning light of the recent near collision of two aircraft at DCA and jam even more flights onto the busiest runway in America,” the senators said. “It should go without saying that the safety of the traveling public should be a higher priority than the convenience of a few lawmakers who want direct flights home from their preferred airport.”

    Because the federal government owns DCA and Dulles International Airport further into the Northern Virginia suburbs, Congress has the power to make operational changes.

    Consumer provisions

    The bill includes several provisions meant to protect consumers.

    It would establish in law a rule the Biden administration proposed this month to require airlines to offer cash refunds for flight delays of more than three hours for domestic flights or six hours for international travel.

    The Biden administration had sought such a measure, even as it pursued the rule.

    It would also require airline credits to be effective for at least five years, bar airlines from charging families to sit together and require the Transportation Department to create a digital dashboard of the minimum seat sizes for U.S. airlines. It does not mandate a national standard for seat size, but it does direct the FAA to decide if a rule on the issue is needed.

    The legislation would establish a Senate-confirmed position of deputy secretary for consumer protection, who would run a new office with an annual budget of $14 million dedicated to consumer issues.

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    Ciara Wells

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  • Wildfire smoke causes flight delays across Northeast. Here’s what to know about the disruptions.

    Wildfire smoke causes flight delays across Northeast. Here’s what to know about the disruptions.

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    Poor air quality impacts millions for second day


    Hazardous air conditions from wildfire smoke impacts millions of Americans for second day

    03:49

    Travelers flying in or out of the Northeast may want to check on the status of their airport on Thursday, with wildfire smoke from Canada causing more flight disruptions for a second day. 

    On Thursday morning, the Federal Aviation Administration put a ground stop on departures from Philadelphia International Airport, citing low visibility, while departures from LaGuardia airport in New York City had an average ground delay of almost an hour, according to agency data.

    The FAA tweeted Wednesday morning that it would “likely need to take steps to manage the flow of traffic safely into New York City, DC, Philadelphia and Charlotte.”

    In addition to the ground stop on departing flights from Philadelphia, the agency added that it had paused in-bound flights on Wednesday morning to Philadelphia, as well as for New York City’s LaGuardia, coming from the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Ohio due to low visibility. 

    The agency also issued a ground delay for Newark airport on Thursday morning.

    The delays and ground stops come after all flights to LaGuardia were paused on Wednesday, while New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport experienced arrival and departure delays. Images from New York City on Wednesday showed an apocalyptic-looking scene, with its skyline dimmed by smoke and the air a burnt-orange color. 

    The Northeast has been blanketed by smoke from the Canadian wildfires, prompting warnings about air quality across the region and prompting schools to cancel after-school events and employers to tell workers to stay home. 

    Passengers can check real-time flight information at the FAA’s website, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg tweeted on Wednesday evening.

    Meanwhile, some airlines urged travelers to check their apps and websites to monitor for delays or other problems. 

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