DMV Lawmakers Call on Department of Transportation, Army to Investigate Deadly January 29th Plane Crash

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) joined by U.S. Reps. Don Beyer (D-VA-08), Sarah Elfreth (D-MD-03), Glenn Ivey (D-MD-04), Jennifer McClellan (D-VA-04), Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA-10), and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) wrote to the Inspectors General (IGs) of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the U.S. Army pushing for respective investigations into Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Army policies and procedures that may have contributed to the January 29, 2025 mid-air collision at Ronald Reagan National Airport that took 67 lives.

In their letters the lawmakers highlighted the need for a deeper investigation into potential organizational failures that may have contributed to the tragedy.

To the Department of Transportation, the lawmakers wrote, “Any lapses in internal accountability, interagency coordination, and safety oversight must be uncovered and addressed swiftly for the families of those lost that day, for the safety of the flying public and residents of the National Capital Region, and for the integrity of the National Airspace System.”

In their letter to the DOT, the lawmakers requested an investigation into:

1. FAA training and operations in the National Capital Region;
2. The concurrent use of helicopter routes and runways at DCA;
3. Pre-January 29, 2025 safety incidents at DCA between airplanes and helicopters, and FAA risk pattern identification, escalation and sufficiency of policy responses;
4. Post-January 29, 2025 safety incidents at DCA between airplanes and helicopters, and FAA risk identification, escalation, and sufficiency of responses to those incidents and the January 29 crash;
5. FAA Air Traffic Controller staffing, training, and real-time responses at DCA, including on January 29; and
6. U.S. Army, federal law enforcement, and FAA interagency communication, including effectiveness of established working groups, and FAA follow-through.

To the U.S. Army, they wrote, “While the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the immediate actual and proximate causes of the January 29, 2025 DCA aviation incident, the Department of the Army Inspector General has the authority to uncover the deeper institutional failures that enabled this tragedy. Emerging evidence points to longstanding lapses in internal accountability, safety oversight, safety culture, and interagency coordination.”

Additionally, the lawmakers requested that the Army investigate the following:

1. TAAB training activities and operations in the National Capital Region, including whether training standards, operational planning decisions, risk identification, or compliance with routes or equipment contributed to operational risk;
2. Army and TAAB policy and practice on aircraft collision-avoidance systems, including the rationale for and coordination around the August 2024 ADS-B Out directive, and whether longstanding near-miss patterns were adequately identified, escalated, and addressed;
3. Army, federal law enforcement, and Federal Aviation Administration interagency communication; and
4. Army actions taken in response to the January 29, 2025 crash, including any policy changes, coordination efforts, transparency with oversight bodies, and measures to prevent further incidents.

Warner and Kaine have been closely involved with the in the investigation of the January 29th collision, meeting with first responders and offering condolences to the families and loved ones of the 67 lives lost immediately following the tragedy. Last week, Warner and Kaine introduced comprehensive aviation safety legislation in response to the tragic mid-air collision. The senators also saw through passage of a legislation to remember the victims of the crash. Warner and Kaine also requested answers from FAA on its plans to protect the flying public in the wake of the January 29 collision. In March of this year, the senators responded to the preliminary National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report on the crash. The senators have also sounded the alarm for years about the need for increased safety for the flying public, including fighting against additional flights out of DCA that contribute to overcrowding. 

A copy of the letter to the DOT is available here. A copy of the letter to the Army is available here.

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