Another Deadly Plane Collision Could Occur in D.C., Safety Official Warns, in Fight with Lawmakers Over Pending Bill

The National Transportation Safety Board went public this week with a warning of potential catastrophe in America’s skies if Congress passes a change to aviation regulations as part of a pending military spending bill.

Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Dec. 10, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy called it a “significant safety setback” — even as lawmakers on Capitol Hill insist the well-being of American fliers is a key priority and that the new provision would actually reduce the risk of harm and increase oversight. 

The conflict between the NTSB and Congress was sparked by language in the National Defense Authorization Act that, in Homebody’s view, would undo a key reform implemented in the wake of a mid-air collision in January between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines jet just outside Washington, D.C.

All 67 people on both crafts were killed.

If passed by Congress and signed into law, part of the new bill would require military aircraft to use TCAS, or the traffic alert and collision avoidance system, around D.C.’s infamously dense airspace. 

But those crafts wouldn’t have to use automatic dependent surveillance – broadcast technology, or ADS-B, which the military had agreed to start using after the January crash and which wasn’t being used at the time.

ADS-B would provide better safety and location information for planes and helicopters moving in close proximity, as they have done in D.C., Homendy wrote in a letter to lawmakers this week.

She contended that relying on TCAS was flawed, as the same system had failed to prevent January’s collision.

Defenders of the new provision, including top members of Congress, say it should be seen as setting a legislative minimum on safety and now helps prevent a widespread number of military craft from flying without broadcasting their locations, except in limited circumstances. 

The requirement to use TCAS could be waived by top military and government officials for “national security” and as long as “risk assessment” was completed.

Homendy took issue with that provision, suggesting it was insufficient. 

In her letter, she criticized the military in no uncertain terms.

“As it is clear from our investigation thus far, that the Army and potentially other military departments within the [Department of War] do not … understand the complexities of the DC airspace, how to conduct a thorough safety risk assessment, or implement appropriate mitigations to ensure safety for all,” she wrote.

Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, she said the legislation “represents an unacceptable risk to the flying public, to commercial and military aircraft crews and to the residents in the region.”

She went on to say that she was not consulted on the pending bill and did not know who on Capitol Hill had introduced the section about aviation.

She decried it as an “unthinkable dismissal of our investigation and of 67 families — 67 families — who lost loved ones in a tragedy that was entirely preventable.”

In a statement to PEOPLE, the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committee said, in part, “We all care deeply about and are fully committed to ensuring aviation safety. In particular, we want to ensure military aircraft properly coordinate with civil aviation authorities in order to avoid another tragic accident.”

“We look forward to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) releasing the results of its investigation next month. … We agree that there is more that needs to be done,” they added.

A committee aide adds: “At the end of the day, every party involved wants to improve the safety of our airspace. I think that is very much how we’re going to approach it after the investigation is released.”

“Once the NTSB released preliminary information that one factor in the crash was the Black Hawk’s exemption from broadcasting its position and altitude, the committee developed legislation to limit those exemptions,” the aide says. “Any waiver would require agreement from both the Secretary of the military branch involved and the Secretary of Transportation, which is a very high bar.” 

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The NTSB investigation of January’s crash exposed a range of problems and flaws in the management of the airspace around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport as well as a string of errors leading up to the disaster, including that the Army helicopter was flying too high in the air and seemed unaware of how close it was to the landing passenger plane, despite repeatedly being warned by air traffic control.

A final report by the NTSB is pending.

The National Defense Authorization Act passed the House on Wednesday, though some senators have since said they’d like to remove the aviation language around the D.C. airport, according to PBS.

However, the bill is a major priority for Congress and the White House, given that it approves military pay, and some form of the legislation is expected to be approved before the year-end recess.