Reagan families press Congress for aviation safety reforms
Families of the 67 people killed when an airliner and an Army helicopter collided over Washington, D.C., pressed Congress and federal regulators Tuesday to enact aviation safety reforms before the tragedy fades further from public attention. The families gathered outside the U.S. Capitol with lawmakers and the head of the National Transportation Safety Board, but lawmakers face a difficult path to passing legislation before the midterm elections.
Doug Lane said he has the U.S. figure skating jacket his son Spencer worked to earn and pieces of his wife Christine’s laptop, both retrieved from the wreckage after their plane plunged into the Potomac River. Everyone aboard was killed when the American Airlines jet from Wichita, Kansas, and the Army Black Hawk helicopter on a training mission collided. The victims included 28 members of the figure skating community.
The Federal Aviation Administration quickly restricted helicopter traffic around Reagan National Airport after the crash, and air traffic controllers are now prohibited from relying only on pilots to see other aircraft and avoid them. FAA Administrator Brian Bedford testified Tuesday that his staff will work to address remaining concerns, but he also needs guidance from Congress.
The NTSB remains unsatisfied with the FAA’s response to a third of the 33 safety recommendations it received, NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said.
Lane and other victims’ families have traveled to Washington repeatedly in the 595 days since the crash.
“We can tell them stories, we can ask questions. We can push for answers. We can take action. That’s the work that belongs to us. But we cannot do anybody else’s work for them,” Lane said. “We need the people with the power to turn this tragedy into change to do theirs and to finish it.”
Senators Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell joined Homendy in urging passage of the reforms. Cruz said he hopes Congress will be able to pass a bill during the lame duck session following November’s elections.
Homendy said it would be a shame to reach the second anniversary of the crash on Jan. 29, 2025, without Congress passing the reforms her agency recommended.
Concerning incidents continue to happen, such as when an airline jet was allowed to take off just as President Donald Trump’s helicopter was taking off from the White House last month.
Rachel Feres, who lost her cousin, his wife and their two young daughters in the crash, said she cannot believe there is still debate about whether pilots transporting hundreds of passengers should have the best collision-avoidance technology available. She noted that most modern cars come equipped with sensors to check blind spots and apply the brakes in an emergency.
Families have been surprised by lobbying against requiring all planes in crowded airspace to carry ADS-B In systems, which Homendy has said would have prevented the crash. Some airlines have endorsed the technology, but cost concerns from other airlines and private plane owners have been a stumbling block.
“This is not about whether you can afford to act … you have the leverage, you have the voice. The question is why safety so rarely gets the same urgency as the next quarterly earnings report,” Feres said.
“Do the thing you would demand if your wife and son were on that airplane. Do what you would do if your granddaughter was traveling home with her teddy bear. You know how to move fast when money is on the line. Move fast when lives are,” Feres said.
Safety reforms stalled earlier this year when the narrower Senate bill came up one vote short in the House after the military reversed course and opposed it at the last minute. Lawmakers have struggled to reconcile the Senate bill with the more comprehensive House version.
“We can’t spend another moment looking them in the eye and doing nothing. We have to. We have an obligation,” Homendy said. “We owe it to these families. We owe it to passengers. We owe it to the traveling public. We owe it to cargo pilots and so much more to improve safety now.”
