A formal report on what exactly caused last week’s deadly collision of an American Airlines passenger jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near Washington’s Ronald Reagan National Airport won’t be issued for at least another year.
Outdated equipment, a chronic shortage of air traffic controllers, and fatigue are among the factors that may have played a role in the worst U.S. aviation disaster in more than two decades, which left 67 people dead. They included First Officer Sam Lilley, a Savannah native and graduate of Richmond High School, and the Black Hawk’s crew chief, Ryan O’Hara, from Lilburn, whose parents currently reside in Liberty County.
Another possible factor? Congressional convenience.
Airport officials and DC-area lawmakers have warned for years that Reagan National was overly congested and operating beyond capacity.
But over their objections, lawmakers from beyond the Beltway have for years pushed to add landing slots at the airport, in part for its just-over-the-bridge proximity to downtown Washington and Capitol Hill, in contrast to Dulles International Airport, which is some 27 miles from Capitol Hill, in northern Virginia.
Those objections were raised again last year when a bill to reauthorize the operations of the Federal Aviation Administration came up. Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock proposed adding up to 28 additional flight slots at what is often referred to as “Congress’ airport”; the bill eventually signed by President Joe Biden approved five.
Warnock, a Democrat and member of the Senate Commerce committee that oversees national transportation and aviation policy, wrote a letter to his Senate colleagues “refuting the “misleading safety concerns surrounding the bipartisan compromise,” a news release issued by his office said.
“There is no evidence to support that any near-miss incident at DCA has ever been a byproduct of an overburdened airport,” said the letter, which was signed by three other senators, including Warnock’s fellow Democrat in the Senate, Jon Ossoff.
“These incidents have nothing to do with slots and everything to do with making sure controllers have the training and technology to keep our skies and runways safe.”
The FAA’s administrator, Michael Whitaker, didn’t object to adding slots at Reagan National.
At a House hearing on the reauthorization bill in February 2024, he was asked by one lawmaker if slots could be added at Reagan National “safely and efficiently.” While the airport was “very close to capacity,” Whitaker replied, “we will always make sure it is operating safely.”
With the exception of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia’s entire congressional delegation, including Coastal Georgia Congressman Earl “Buddy” Carter of St. Simons, voted in favor of the reauthorization bill.
Carter described the bipartisan measure as a win for Delta Airlines, which gained slots at Reagan National, as well as for him.
“We have two flights — two direct flights from Savannah to Reagan right now. That makes life so much easier for me,” Carter, a Republican, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
