FAA Must Do Better After Midair Collision, Acting Chief Says

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said it must improve the way it identifies potentially risky air-traffic situations, following a deadly midair collision between a U.S. Army helicopter and American Airlines Group Inc. regional jet in January.

“While flying remains the safest mode of transportation, aviation safety is not static,” Chris Rocheleau, the FAA’s acting administrator, plans say Thursday, according to written testimony prepared for a Senate hearing on the crash. “We have to get smarter about how we use data, and when we put corrective actions in place, we must execute them.”

Aviation safety has come under increased scrutiny since the January accident near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport that killed 67 people, the worst US commercial airline disaster in decades. Places like Washington with its congested airspace have drawn added focus, with US aviation safety investigators citing more than 15,000 instances of planes and helicopters coming dangerously close at Reagan airport between October 2021 and December 2024.

The FAA has been conducting an analysis of other airports that are similar to Reagan and have high volumes of helicopter traffic to gauge potential risks. The agency is also creating a panel to identify “additional hazard areas,” Rocheleau said in his written testimony.

The Senate Commerce Committee is convening Thursday’s hearing to discuss the National Transportation Safety Board’s recent preliminary report on the tragedy. The NTSB released two urgent recommendations alongside the report, including one urging the FAA to permanently ban certain helicopter operations near Reagan airport.

The FAA and Transportation Department have since announced permanent restrictions on non-essential traffic.

While the NTSB is still working to determine a probable cause for the accident, it has offered several clues as to the factors that likely contributed. The Black Hawk was flying above a 200-foot limit for helicopters in that area, its crew was likely wearing night-vision goggles that can limit peripheral vision, and it may have missed an important instruction from air traffic control.

Brigadier General Matthew Braman, director of Army Aviation, said the NTSB’s recommendations, including the permanent closing of a stretch of Route 4 that was used by the Black Hawk when it slammed to the American Airlines regional jet, “would not negatively affect Army helicopter operations.”

He said in written testimony for the hearing that the Army is participating in an FAA-led working group to develop a replacement route.

Since the January accident, Transportation Department Secretary Sean Duffy has called for a swift overhaul of the US air traffic control system and has said he needs full upfront funding from Congress to carry out the effort. In addition, Duffy announced changes intended to increase controller hiring, including a 30% increase in starting salaries for candidates who enter the FAA’s academy.

Rocheleau said in his written testimony that the FAA received more than 10,000 applications in the latest hiring window, with more than 8,300 referred to testing.

NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy in her own written testimony said her agency also needs additional staff and resources.

“To complete our investigations and develop recommendations that advance safety changes without delays, we must meet the challenges that come with increasing growth and innovation in transportation,” she said.

Top photo: The air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia.