Trump FAA nominee calls near-miss incidents at DC airport unacceptable
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump's nominee to head the Federal Aviation Administration said on Tuesday that the 85 near-miss incidents at Reagan Washington National Airport since 2021 were unacceptable.
On January 29, a Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines regional passenger jet near Reagan, killing 67 people.
"In the years preceding that tragic night in January, there were 85 similar near misses at Reagan National. How did this go unaddressed? It's unacceptable," FAA nominee Bryan Bedford said, adding that the FAA needs significant investment in air traffic control.
The National Transportation Safety Board said in March that since 2021 there were more than 15,200 occurrences at Reagan between commercial airplanes and helicopters with lateral separation distance of less than 1 nautical mile and vertical separation of less than 400 feet, and 85 close-call incidents during that period.
"If confirmed, my top priority will be public safety and in restoring the public's confidence in flying," said Bedford, who has raised questions about the FAA's leadership and culture.
On Wednesday, acting FAA administrator Chris Rocheleau, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy and Army Aviation Brigadier General Matthew Braman will answer questions from senators about a May 1 incident in which two passenger airline flights were forced to abort landings at Reagan because of a nearby Army helicopter. The FAA barred the Army from training or priority transport flights around the Pentagon after the incident.
A bipartisan group of 10 former FAA administrators and acting heads of the agency endorsed Bedford, including his predecessor Mike Whitaker, who stepped down on January 20, a little over a year into his five-year term.
"In the years ahead, the FAA will be at the center of efforts to modernize and rebuild our nation's air traffic control system - an undertaking that requires immediate action," the former FAA officials wrote in a letter to senators, saying Bedford was "exceptionally qualified to lead this effort from day one."
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wants tens of billions of dollars to overhaul air traffic operations.
Separately, two dozen U.S. senators on Monday asked the inspectors general for the Pentagon and Transportation Department to open audits in response to the January 29 collision.
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