Before D.C. Airport Collision, Lawmakers Brushed Off Warnings And Boosted Flights

[Passages]

Despite midflight near-misses and dire pleas, airline-bankrolled lawmakers recently expanded flight traffic at Washington’s busy airport.

Jan 29, 2025


Months before Wednesday night’s fatal midair collision of an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter in Washington, lawmakers brushed off safety warnings amid midflight near-misses and passed an industry-backed measure designed to add additional flight traffic at the same D.C. airport where the Jan. 29 disaster unfolded.

Soon after a March 2023 near collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, House lawmakers considered a provision to increase the number of flights allowed at the facility. It is one of only two airports in the country owned by the federal government, giving Congress unique authority over its operations.

The legislation was supported by lawmakers seeking more direct flights to their home states and airlines eager for expanded routes. It was opposed by lawmakers who asserted that the airport was already overstressed by flight volume in the capital region’s busy airspace.

“The bill just proposed would go far beyond past attempts to expand slots at [the Reagan Airport], dangerously overloading the airport’s operational capacity to benefit one airline,” Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) told the Washington Post at the time. “The very title of the ‘Direct Access To The Capital Act’ gives the game away that this bill is written to maximize the personal convenience of a comparatively small number of powerful, well-connected individuals at the expense of safety and efficiency of flights — which should be our top priority.”
https://www.levernews.com/before-d-c-airport-collision-lawmakers-brushed-off-warnings-and-boosted-flights/

[Passages]

1. BREAKING: Staffing was "not normal" in the air traffic control tower

The Associated Press
@AP
BREAKING: Staffing was “not normal” in the air traffic control tower at the time of a midair collision near D.C., an FAA report obtained by AP says.

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