FAA to require all DC aircraft to turn on tracking tech after plane crash with helicopter
The acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration said the agency will require most aircraft at Ronald Reagan National Airport to have surveillance technology turned on in the wake of a midair crash in the nation’s capital between a commercial jet from Wichita and a Black Hawk Army helicopter.
That technology — referred to as ADS-B Out, for Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Out — was not operating in the Black Hawk helicopter at the time it collided with an American Airlines flight in January, killing 67 people.
READ THEIR STORIES: Remembering the victims of American Airlines flight 5342 from Wichita to Washington, D.C.
The new policy was unveiled during a Senate hearing on Capitol Hill on Thursday as part of lawmakers’ probe into the cause of the first mass-casualty event involving a domestic commercial airliner in nearly 16 years. The collision occurred as the evening flight was a half- mile short of the runway and the Black Hawk was flying at an altitude of about 300 feet in a routine training exercise.
The chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the crash, told senators on a Commerce, Science and Transportation subcommittee the imperiled Black Hawk had not transmitted ADS-B Out tracking information for 730 days prior to its collision, indicating the possibility that the helicopter suffered from a longstanding technical problem.
“You can have ADS-B Out on, but you also have to make sure that it’s working,” said Jennifer Homendy, the NTSB chair.
The director of U.S. Army Aviation initially acknowledged that it conducts many flights with ADS-B Out turned off, but Brigadier General Matthew Braman later said the military would comply with the FAA’s order.
“The Army operates 100% under FAA authority,” Braman said.
But when pressed under questioning, acting FAA administrator Chris Rocheleau acknowledged the agency would allow some flights to be exempted from the new rule.
“You’re not building faith in this system of oversight,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington. “It is the day job of the FAA not to allow these exemptions to become prolific and everybody use them.”
The FAA’s new requirement only applies at the moment to Ronald Reagan National Airport — known by its Air Transportation Association code DCA — which operates one of the busiest runways in the nation.
ADS-B is the modern aircraft tracking technology used in aviation for surveillance and traffic management, enhancing situational awareness for air traffic controllers and pilots by broadcasting an aircraft’s latitude, longitude, altitude and velocity once per second.
The U.S. Army and other military branches do not always use ADS-B Out because of operational security concerns. Since the technology is unencrypted and publicly accessible, some military officials believe broadcasting such information could compromise sensitive missions.
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas told Braman it was “shocking and deeply unacceptable” that the Army had continued to conduct flights with tracking technology turned off.
“If today another accident occurs over DCA with another helicopter that had ADS-B Out turned off, the Army will have very direct responsibility for that. And I am at a loss to come up with any justification for risking the lives of the traveling public with that decision,” Cruz said.
Cruz also scolded the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Army for conducting anti-drone testing missions that triggered a rash of cockpit alerts at DCA over the last month.
“It is inappropriate for such testing to occur at DCA given the facts of what occurred,” Cruz told the witnesses.
While the committee gathered on Thursday to review the NTSB’s preliminary report, Homendy noted that it would take a year for the agency to complete its full investigation to identify a probable cause for the January crash.
What most senators agreed on is that the preliminary report included a flurry of warning signs that, if acted upon, could have prevented the Jan. 29 tragedy.
Daily Crafton, the brother of Casey Crafton, one of the victims on the flight, told reporters afterwards he just hoped officials could take action for “safer skies.”
“Specifically, even since the crash, certain safety measures that could have been simply implemented still have not been,” Crafton said. “Accountability is still not being taken by parties who should be held responsible.”
The NTSB chair noted that between October 2021 and December 2024 there were over 15,000 close proximity events between commercial aircraft and helicopters at Washington’s DCA, with several of them leaving just 75 feet of separation between them.
Since the crash, the FAA has moved to permanently ban non-essential helicopter operations in the airspace around DCA, particularly in the 4 mile stretch between Hains Point and the Wilson Bridge, to prevent conflicts with incoming and outbound aircraft.
Plans are also underway to install a runway incursion device, an advanced safety technology designed to detect potential runway movements, at 74 airports, including DCA, by the end of 2026.
Rocheleau, the acting FAA administrator, said progress was being made to hire more air traffic controllers since offering a 30% salary increase to qualified applicants. The FAA currently employs 10,750 air traffic controllers, has an additional 3,000 in training and plans to hire 2,000 more this year.
The preliminary report indicates that the helicopter crew may not have received some of the traffic tower’s communications due to technical issues.
This story was originally published March 27, 2025 at 1:54 PM with the headline "FAA to require all DC aircraft to turn on tracking tech after plane crash with helicopter."
