Federal officials, members of Congress and others are speaking out against a section of a House defense bill that would reverse safety changes in D.C. airspace after the crash over the Potomac in January.
Section 373 of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2026, passed in the House on Wednesday, would allow military aircraft on training missions to operate in the city’s airspace and around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport without using automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast technology, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said in a letter to the House and Senate Armed Services committees.
ADS-B was initially mandated by federal transportation officials for military aircraft in District airspace and around Reagan National following the Jan. 29 collision between the Army Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines Flight 5342 that killed all 67 people on board both aircraft.
Instead, the section says that military aircraft must provide warnings compatible with the traffic and collision avoidance systems already on commercial aircraft. The problem, Ms. Homendy said, is that compared to ADS-B, those systems are designed to be less effective below altitudes of 900 feet while the plane descends.
The Jan. 29 collision happened at an altitude of 278 feet about 20 seconds after the plane got a traffic and collision avoidance system alert, Ms. Homendy said.
She also said the section would allow Department of War personnel, from Secretary Pete Hegseth down to generals or flag officers within any military department, to waive the traffic and collision system warnings if they determine that the waiver is in the interest of national security and if a risk assessment has been completed.
“We have serious concerns that such a risk assessment would not adequately evaluate the safety of the airspace. … The language seems to allow military departments to do what they want in the DC airspace. … This provision is an unacceptable risk to the flying public, to commercial and military aircraft crews, and to residents in the region,” Ms. Homendy concluded.
Several lawmakers and Washington area officials have also raised concerns about Section 373. They include the leaders of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Chair Ted Cruz, Texas Republican; ranking member Sen. Maria Cantwell; Washington Democrat; Sen. Jerry Moran, Kansas Republican; and Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Illinois Democrat.
