Inspector Normal Probing FAA’s Dealing with of D.C. Airspace After 1000’s 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 Normal announced Friday that it will 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 one in every of many near-disasters which have occurred at their airport in recent times. 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 business airplanes.

Final week, an investigative listening to on the crash revealed that just one air traffic controller was managing each helicopter and airplane site 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 stored 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 site visitors management and different close by plane. Insurance policies on the Reagan airport didn’t require helicopters to transmit ADS-B Out information on the time of the incident, in line 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 site visitors management administration. The evaluate is ready to start this month.

The findings of the IG workplace must be fascinating, if not harrowing. There was a scarcity of air site 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 plain 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 elementary issues with the way in which the FAA is at present working.

The Trump of all of it might get in the way in which of ever truly enhancing something, although. Earlier this yr, he fired the sitting Inspector Normal on the Division of Transportation, so the workplace is currently operating with an appearing IG and no chief counsel. To this point, the one clarification 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 state of affairs.