Warner & Kaine React to NTSB Hearing Regarding Deadly DCA Crash: Congress Must Act to Reduce Flights, Improve Safety

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) released the following statement regarding this week’s National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) hearing about the fatal January 29 crash near DCA. Yesterday, Potomac radar facility manager Bryan Lehman testified that he voiced concern that there were too many flights departing and arriving at the airport, but was then rebuffed by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) managers who cited ongoing congressional work on the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, which ultimately—over the vocal and repeated objections of Warner and Kaine—added even more flight slots to the airport:

“We owe it to the loved ones of those we lost in the fatal mid-air collision near DCA on January 29 that we make sure another tragedy like this never happens again. In the hours, days, and months since the accident, we have engaged with the families that were directly impacted, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Army. We have been following the ongoing collision investigation closely, and were struck by testimony during yesterday’s NTSB hearing from an FAA official who voiced concerns over congestion at the airport years ago and proposed reducing traffic, but was rebuffed by his managers because of conversations in Congress at the time about adding even more flights into and out of DCA. While we recognize that various factors contributed to the crash and continue to work with our colleagues to address them, this testimony underscores a clear takeaway: Congress must act to reduce dangerous congestion by removing flights into and out of DCA.”

Warner and Kaine have been closely involved with the investigation of the January 29 collision, meeting with first responders and offering condolences to the families and loved ones of the 67 lives lost immediately following the tragedy. The senators also saw through passage of 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. In June, the senators introduced the Safe Operation and Shared Airspace Act of 2025 to strengthen aviation safety. Last month, Kaine successfully secured a provision in the Senate Armed Services Committee’s draft National Defense Authorization Act that would require all aircraft of the Department of Defense that operate near commercial airports be equipped with broadcast positioning technology.

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