National

FAA says it failed to address warning signals before fatal collision

By Reuters Reuters
FILE PHOTO: A crane retrieves part of the wreckage from the Potomac River, in the aftermath of the collision of American Eagle flight 5342 and a Black Hawk helicopter that crashed into the river, by the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., February 5, 2025. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A crane retrieves part of the wreckage from the Potomac River, in the aftermath of the collision of American Eagle flight 5342 and a Black Hawk helicopter that crashed into the river, by the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., February 5, 2025. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo Eduardo Munoz Reuters

WASHINGTON - The head of the Federal Aviation Administration will tell Congress on Tuesday the agency failed to act on warnings prior to the January 2025 fatal collision between an American Airlines regional jet and Army helicopter that killed 67 people near Reagan Washington National Airport.

"Our airspace system was providing warning signals prior to that tragic evening. The issue was not a lack of data -- it was a failure to translate that data into action," FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford will tell a U.S. Senate Commerce subcommittee in written testimony. "That is the gap we are urgently closing."

(Reporting by David Shepardson)

FILE PHOTO: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Bryan Bedford speaks at a press conference after an Air Canada Express jet collided with a ground vehicle at New York's LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York, U.S., March 23, 2026. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Bryan Bedford speaks at a press conference after an Air Canada Express jet collided with a ground vehicle at New York's LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York, U.S., March 23, 2026. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo Eduardo Munoz

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.

This story was originally published May 18, 2026 at 12:11 PM.

Get unlimited digital access
#ReadLocal

Try 1 month for $1

CLAIM OFFER