FAA acknowledges it must do better after deadly DC air collision

Source: Associated Press

The head of the Federal Aviation Administration told Congress during a hearing Thursday about a midair collision over Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people that the agency must do more to ensure flying remains safe.

The FAA’s artificial intelligence-led review aimed at identifying safety threats at other airports with similar helicopter-airplane congestion should be finished in a couple weeks, said Chris Rocheleau, the agency’s acting administrator.

During the hearing, the head of the National Transportation Safety Board and members of Congress again questioned how the FAA hadn’t noticed an alarming number of close calls near Ronald Reagan National Airport and addressed the problem before the January collision between an Army helicopter and a jetliner. The collision over the Potomac River was the nation’s deadliest plane crash since November 2001.

“We have to do better,” Rocheleau said. “We have to identify trends, we have to get smarter about how we use data, and when we put corrective actions in place, we must execute them.”

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By JOSH FUNK
Updated 4:27 PM EDT, March 27, 2025


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/dc-plane-crash-congress-ntsb-faa-helicopter-e6cabb82fd788039e16ab2af84220712