House Opens Investigation Into Military Use of D.C. Airspace

The House Oversight Committee opened an investigation on Thursday into the use of airspace around the National Capital Region by military aircraft in the wake of the deadly midair collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and a regional passenger jet.

Rep. William Timmons, R-S.C., and Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., serving as co-chairs for the subcommittee on military and foreign affairs, sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth requesting a briefing that details the potential causes of the crash and any efforts being made to prevent further disasters.

On Jan. 29, a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter collided with a PSA-operated CRJ700 that was making a decent into Reagan National Airport just before 9 p.m. In total, 67 lives were lost from both aircraft — the deadliest crash in the U.S. since 2009.

"Washington, D.C.'s airspace is among the most complex and heavily regulated in the nation. DCA operates within the tightly controlled Flight Restricted Zone (FRZ), making it one of the busiest and most sensitive airspaces in the country," the congressmen wrote in their letter to Hegseth. "DOD plays a critical role in managing and securing this airspace, with military aircraft frequently conducting operations in and around the National Capital Region."

The subcommittee has requested several specific pieces of information from the Department of Defense:

• A list of known procedural failures that led to the Jan. crash
• Potential security risks identified by the DOD relating to the high volume of air traffic in the National Capital Region
• Existing risk mitigation measures for military flights near Reagan National Airport

Timmons and Subramanyam noted there have been 37 near-collisions since 1987 near Reagan National with a third of those involving military aircraft and seven specifically involving helicopters. They are requesting Hegseth's findings on or before April 1.

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