By David Shepardson
ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, (Reuters) -A House lawmaker said on Friday he wants Congress to require the U.S. Army inspector general to conduct an audit of the January 29 collision between a military helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet that killed 67 people.
Representative Don Beyer said the Army inspector general’s office has declined to open an investigation into the incident despite a bipartisan request in June by two dozen senators.
Beyer plans to try to get an Army audit requirement attached to an annual Pentagon funding bill. Senate Commerce Committee chair Ted Cruz has also proposed legislation to require the Army audit of aviation safety practices and into “systemic breakdowns” that may have contributed to the deadliest U.S. aviation crash in more than two decades.
At a forum on Friday near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Senator Mark Warner of Virginia and Beyer raised concerns about congestion and thousands of near miss incidents. The airport has the single busiest runway in the U.S.
Congress in 2024 ordered five new daily round trip flights from Reagan despite safety concerns and objections from Virginia lawmakers.
“The airport is designed for 14 million passengers a year and we’re doing 26 million,” Beyer said.
In August, the U.S. Transportation Department Office of Inspector General opened an audit into the Federal Aviation Administration’s management of airspace and its allowance of exemptions of the use of a key safety system by some military aircraft.
The FAA has faced criticism for failing to act on reports of near-miss incidents before the collision in January.
In May, the FAA barred the Army from helicopter flights around the Pentagon after a May 1 close call that forced two civilian planes to abort landings.
Last month, Senator Maria Cantwell called on the Army’s inspector general “to step up and launch” its own audit.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by David Gregorio)
