Sitting administrator Chris Rocheleau acknowledges that the Federal Aviation Administration missed alarming data trends in the years leading up to the collision of an American Airlines regional jet and a military helicopter near Washington, DC’s Ronald Reagan National airport.
“I’ve been very concerned about what we’ve learned in the subsequent investigation, both from the NTSB as well as our own reviews,” he said during Capitol Hill testimony on 27 March.
“Clearly, something was missed.”
Earlier this month, the US National Transportation Board’s preliminary report on the 29 January accident revealed that, between October 2021 and December 2024, there were more than 15,000 “close proximity events” between helicopters and commercial aircraft at Reagan National.
In 85 of those near-misses, the aircraft maintained vertical separation of less than 200ft, according to the NTSB report.
The NTSB has previously faulted the FAA for failing to address collision risks at busy the airport. Earlier this month, Jennifer Homendy, chair of the NTSB, said that the data it collected “is from a voluntary safety reporting system that FAA could have used any time”.
She called the FAA’s failure to act sooner “stronger than an oversight.”
Why the FAA had not identified the helicopter corridor along the Potomac River as potentially hazardous for inbound jets was the focus of several lawmakers’ questions during the 27 March hearing.
Part of the issue is the volume of information collected by the FAA, Rocheleau says. It is inundated with “tens of millions of pieces” of safety data on a rolling basis, which is why the agency is now leaning on artificial intelligence to help sift through the information.
Rocheleau says the FAA is looking at 10 “hot spots” throughout the country it has identified as high-risk areas where helicopters and commercial aircraft operate in congested airspaces. He cites examples such as Chicago and Anchorage, Alaska.
“As part of this analysis, we’re using machine learning and language modelling to scan incident reports and multiple data sources to find themes and areas of concern,” he says.
“We will take immediate action if needed to mitigate any identified safety risks.”
Homendy agrees that making sense of statistical trends and acting upon them remains an area of weakness for the FAA.
”There does seem to be an issue with identifying emerging trends,” Homendy told lawmakers. “There’s a lot of data going to the FAA. Taking that data and looking at trends and not specific issues” is a noted deficiency.
The NTSB has yet to determine probable cause regarding the collision of a US Army Blackhawk helicopter and a PSA Airlines MHIRJ CRJ700. Homendy says it is pushing to conclude its investigation within a year, with a team of 40 investigators assigned to the task.
Rocheleau, appointed sitting FAA administrator by US President Donald Trump, says he is establishing a safety risk panel to identify hazard areas involving helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft in national airspace.
And the accident has prompted the permanent closure of a section of the Route 4 helicopter thoroughfare along the Potomac River when commercial aircraft are approaching the runway and taking off.
“All aircraft operating in DC airspace will be required to broadcast their position and identification using ADS-B Out, with very limited exceptions,” Rocheleau adds.
Meanwhile, air traffic control staffing remains a top priority for the FAA. It currently employs 10,750 controllers, with another 3,000 currently in training.
The FAA intends to hire another 2,000 controllers this year and has stepped up hiring incentives with a 30% pay boost for those qualified to attend the ATC academy.
Additionally, the FAA has recently received more than 10,000 applications for ATC positions, of which 8,000 were referred for testing.
Also during the hearing, Republican senator Ted Cruz revealed that counter-drone testing performed by the Secret Service and US Navy triggered faulty traffic warnings for commercial aircraft on approach to Reagan National in a series of incidents reported on 1 March.
