Hearings to examine the National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report, focusing on the DCA midair collision.

Senate Subcommittee on Aviation Safety, Operations, and Innovation

2025-03-27

Source: Congress.gov

Participants

Transcript

I commend the NTSB for issuing urgent safety recommendations, and I commend the FAA in acting to implement them, particularly the permit restriction of nonessential helicopter operations at DCA.   However, I want to know how, with these statistics in the FAA files, why prior to January 29th, the agency failed to improve safety protocols at Reagan National Airport.  This committee worked tirelessly to pass an FAA reauthorization bill last Congress that prioritized safety, enabling our industry to continue innovating and equipping the FAA with the resources necessary to keep our skies safe.   We need a permanent, confirmed FAA administrator to implement this important framework for the future of the industry.  President Trump recently nominated Brian Bedford to lead the FAA, and I look forward to his testimony before this committee in the near future.  I commend Secretary Duffy for his push to modernize airspace, and I look forward to this subcommittee working together to keep America's traveling public safe and improve   public trust in our air travel system.  Demand for commercial aviation is expected to grow 4% each year over the next two decades, and along with new technology and commercial spacecraft entering our airspace.  This will further place demands upon our airspace and require the tools and guidelines to ensure a safe airspace.   American Airlines Flight 5342 and Priority Air Transport 25 carried innocent civilians, selfless service members, talented figure skaters, fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters,   And while Congress' response to the January 29th ought to be deliberate and not executed in a knee-jerk fashion, Congress must make certain that this loss of life occurs never again.