Families of the victims in the deadly midair collision near Reagan National Airport have made additional investigations of the crash a top priority.
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on Monday asked the inspectors general of the Army and Department of Transportation to conduct parallel audits of the agencies’ aviation safety practices around Washington, D.C., in the wake of a deadly midair collision earlier this year.
The bipartisan letter was led by Senators Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas and the panel’s chairman, and Maria Cantwell of Washington, the committee’s top Democrat, and signed by all of the panel’s Democrats and most of its Republicans.
In it, the senators emphasized that the Jan. 29 accident, in which an Army Blackhawk helicopter slammed into American Airlines Flight 5342, highlighted a dangerous and continuing pattern of near misses between military and commercial aircraft around Ronald Reagan National Airport.
They called on the inspectors general to “specifically address whether improved F.A.A. and Army procedures, communication systems or adherence to existing protocols would increase aviation safety” in the area, referring to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The letter comes days before the committee is set to be briefed behind closed doors by representatives of the F.A.A., the Army and the National Transportation Safety Board about the crash and other recent close calls between commercial flights and military aircraft in areas around Reagan National Airport and the Pentagon. The briefing is scheduled for Wednesday, according to a congressional aide with knowledge of the plans who was not authorized to speak publicly.
Securing these internal watchdog inquiries has been a top priority for Families of Flight 5342, a group formed by the relatives of the American Airlines passengers who were killed. In a statement, the group said that the senators’ bipartisan request “represents a critical first step toward rebuilding public trust after this tragedy.”