US FAA head to face questions from lawmakers after agency cited in fatal air collision

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, May 6 (Reuters) – The head of the Federal Aviation Administration will face questions on Capitol Hill on May 19 after a report found systemic failures by the ​agency led to a devastating mid-air collision that killed 67 ‌people last year.

The January 2025 collision between an American Airlines regional jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was the deadliest U.S. aviation disaster in more than two decades. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford will ‌appear ​before a Senate aviation subcommittee to answer questions ⁠about the agency’s efforts ⁠to address a series of National Transportation Safety Board recommendations.

The hearing comes as the House and Senate have passed competing bills to address air safety.

“Our aviation system is fragile, as demonstrated by the several ​close calls, and we cannot afford any delays in implementation of these safety standards,” said Republican Senator Jerry Moran, chair of the ⁠aviation subcommittee.

The FAA did not immediately comment.

The ⁠NTSB determined the accident was caused by the FAA’s ​decision to allow helicopters to fly near the airport with no safeguards ​to separate them from airplanes and its failure to review ‌data and act on recommendations to move helicopter traffic away from the airport.

NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy rebuked the FAA, shedding light on serious communication, culture and safety issues surrounding the 26th busiest U.S. airport, which ⁠has the single busiest U.S. runway and is regularly used by members of Congress.

The NTSB made more than 30 recommendations to the FAA, citing a ⁠series of failures ‌before the Washington crash.

Since 2021, there have been ⁠15,200 air separation incidents near Reagan airport between commercial ​airplanes ‌and helicopters, including 85 close-call events.

The NTSB found issues ​with how ⁠the FAA handles traffic at Reagan and that it rejected advice to add hot spots to a helicopter route chart. Homendy said the FAA also did not review the helicopter routes annually as required and had routes that were not designed to ensure proper separation.

(Reporting by David ShepardsonEditing ​by Rod Nickel)