Inspector Basic Probing FAA’s Dealing with of D.C. Airspace After Hundreds of Shut Calls

Almost eight months after a lethal collision occurred close to Ronald Reagan Washington Nationwide Airport in Washington, D.C., the Transportation Division’s Workplace of Inspector Basic announced Friday that it might open a probe into the Federal Aviation Administration’s dealing with of the airspace across the worldwide airport.

The inciting incident for the investigation was the midair crash that occurred this January when a US Military Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airways regional jet, killing 67 people. However, per the IG’s announcement, that was simply certainly one of many near-disasters which have occurred at their airport lately. The Nationwide Transportation Security Board found 15,000 close-proximity incidents occurred within the airport’s airspace between October 2021 and December 2024—a lot of which concerned industrial airplanes.

Final week, an investigative listening to on the crash revealed that just one air traffic controller was managing each helicopter and airplane visitors on the time of the collision. It additionally discovered that the Black Hawk concerned within the lethal crash was dealing with a technical issue that saved a tool often known as ADS-B Out from functioning correctly, which might have broadcast the helicopter’s place, altitude, and different data to air visitors management and different close by plane. Insurance policies on the Reagan airport didn’t require helicopters to transmit ADS-B Out knowledge on the time of the incident, in accordance with an Military official who spoke on the listening to.

These revelations have the IG workplace wanting additional into the case. The watchdog will examine the FAA’s insurance policies and procedures round offering ADS-B Out exemptions on the airport, in addition to how the company handles air visitors management administration. The assessment is about to start this month.

The findings of the IG workplace ought to be attention-grabbing, if not harrowing. There was a scarcity of air visitors controllers for years now, which was not improved by the Trump administration’s hiring freeze nor its plan to keep ATCs from retiring after turning 56, regardless of the apparent want for sharp eyes and thoughts whereas on the job. The truth that there are constant near-misses, together with a non-deadly collision on the runway of Reagan earlier this yr that concerned a airplane with sitting members of Congress onboard, suggests there are some basic issues with the way in which the FAA is presently working.

The Trump of all of it could get in the way in which of ever truly bettering something, although. Earlier this yr, he fired the sitting Inspector Basic on the Division of Transportation, so the workplace is currently operating with an performing IG and no chief counsel. To date, the one rationalization we’ve gotten out of Trump for the crash is when he blamed it on DEI hires. That doesn’t precisely encourage confidence that we’re going to get significant reform out of this complete scenario.