US Army withholds report on key helicopter safety system use, senators say

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Army has refused to turn over a 2024 report detailing why it has routinely failed to use a safety system known as ADS-B on helicopter flights around Reagan Washington National Airport, Republican and Democratic senators said on Monday.

An Army Black Hawk helicopter did not have ADS-B operating during a routine training mission when it collided with an American Airlines regional jet on January 29, killing 67 people.

ADS-B, or automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast, is an advanced surveillance technology that transmits an aircraft's location.

Senate Commerce Committee chair Ted Cruz, a Republican, and Senator Maria Cantwell, the top Democrat on the panel, had demanded the Army turn over the report by Friday.

"It is completely unacceptable that our request has been repeatedly ignored and that the Army continues to obstruct the committee’s investigation into this horrific accident," Cruz and Cantwell said in a joint statement.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Cruz last week at a hearing pressed Army General Matt Braman, the director of Army aviation, on its failure to use ADS-B on most flights.

"I want to encourage the Army right now to revisit that policy and to revisit that policy today," Cruz said. "If today another accident occurs over DCA (Reagan National) with another helicopter that had ADS-B out turned off, the Army will have very direct responsibility for that."

Civilian airplanes must use ADS-B, but the Federal Aviation Administration in 2019 gave the military an exemption in rare circumstances. Senators say the military has rarely if ever used ADS-B in Washington training flights.

Acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau said on Thursday that the agency was requiring ADS-B to be turned on in airspace around Reagan National "except in very limited circumstances."

The National Transportation Safety Board plans to conduct testing to determine whether if ADS-B had been in use, it would have potentially made a difference, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told reporters.

The FAA said Monday it sent notices last week of the policy to NASA, Justice Department, Pentagon and Homeland Security Department requiring ADS-B use near Reagan National except in cases like "active national security missions."

Separately, the NTSB and FAA are investigating a close call between a Delta Air Lines A319 and a group of Air Force jets that were conducted a ceremonial flyover Friday near Reagan National.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese and Jamie Freed)