{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.moran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ID=127DC1B6-DEB8-4C86-9250-76EB2BBA3F76", "Sen. Moran Joins Colleagues to Call for Audits to Improve DCA Airspace Safety", "2025-06-10", "2025", "2025-06", "Republican", "Senate", "KS", "Jerry Moran", "M000934", "www.moran.senate.gov", "moran", "https://www.moran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) \u2013 Chairman of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation, Space and Innovation \u2013 joined Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Ranking Member Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and 19 other senators in sending a letter to the Acting Inspector General of the Department of Transportation (DOT OIG) and the Inspector General of the Department of the Army (Army OIG), requesting concurrent audits in response to the January 29th midair collision between a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines Flight 5342 near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), as well as ongoing coordination issues between the Army and DCA air traffic control.\n\n\u201cFollowing the horrific accident at DCA that claimed 67 lives and the subsequent discovery of known safety gaps, we request that the Inspector General of the Department of the Army and the Acting Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation initiate concurrent audits investigating the concerns noted below,\u201d the senators wrote.\n\nThe senators requested DOT OIG to evaluate the Federal Aviation Administration\u2019s (FAA) management of the DCA airspace, as well as assess whether FAA\u2019s decisions regarding airspace design failures and allowance of ADS-B Out exemptions contributed to the accident at DCA.\n\nThe senators also asked Army OIG to review the Army\u2019s coordination with FAA, pilot training and qualification standards and the Army\u2019s policy on ADS-B equipage, usage and activation. The senators called for both audits to determine whether improved FAA and Army procedures, communication systems or adherence to existing protocols would increase aviation safety in the DCA airspace.\n\nSen. Moran recently introduced legislation that would require all aircraft in high-volume airspace to use ADS-B technology.\n\nThe full letter can be found here and below.\n\nOn Tuesday, March 11, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a preliminary report regarding the January 29, 2025 collision between American Airlines flight 5342, operated by PSA Airlines, and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter, operated by The Army Aviation Brigade stationed at Davison Army Airfield at Fort Belvoir, Virginia that resulted in 67 fatalities. Along with the report, the NTSB released two urgent safety recommendations aimed at deconflicting fixed-wing and rotorcraft traffic in the National Capital Region (NCR). The NTSB also released data showing that from October 2021 through December 2024, there were 15,214 close proximity incidents between commercial aircraft and helicopters involving a lateral separation of less than one nautical mile and vertical separation of less than 400 feet.\n\nDespite 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 DCA air traffic control to issue go-around orders to two commercial aircraft on final approach. The Army Aviation Brigade later suspended operations pending an internal review.\n\nFollowing the horrific accident at DCA that claimed 67 lives and the subsequent discovery of known safety gaps, we request that the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of the Army (Army OIG) and the Acting Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT OIG) initiate concurrent audits investigating the concerns noted below.\n\nThe Department of Transportation\u2019s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is tasked with ensuring the safety of United States airspace. The DOT OIG audit should assess the FAA\u2019s oversight and management of existing aviation safety gaps, its analysis of data on loss of separation incidents, its design and management of airspace and flight routes around DCA, and should review the role and effectiveness of the DC Helicopter Working Group. The audit should also determine whether FAA\u2019s decisions regarding airspace design failures contributed to the accident at DCA \u2013 including any FAA actions to reduce required separation margins \u2013 and assess FAA\u2019s oversight and enforcement of ADS-B Out exemptions utilized by relevant Federal agencies to determine if such exemptions have been granted and used appropriately, particularly in Class B airspace.\n\nThe Army OIG audit should address the Army\u2019s coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration during NCR operations, pilot training and qualification standards in the NCR, the Army's policy on ADS-B equipage, usage, and activation, maintenance protocols for UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters operated by the Army Aviation Brigade, compliance with the Letter of Agreement between the Army and FAA regarding flight operations in the NCR, and the Army\u2019s review of loss of separation incidents involving its rotorcraft in the NCR along with possible mitigations to prevent future mishaps.\n\nBoth audits should specifically address whether improved FAA and Army procedures, communication systems, or adherence to existing protocols would increase aviation safety in the NCR.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:34:38Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.moran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ID=127DC1B6-DEB8-4C86-9250-76EB2BBA3F76"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 3.0060799326747656, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}