Families of 67 crash victims press Congress for aviation safety reforms

Relatives of the 67 people killed when an American Airlines jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided over Washington, D.C., gathered outside the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday to press Congress and regulators for faster action on aviation safety reforms.

The crash, which occurred on Jan. 29, 2025, was the deadliest U.S. aviation disaster since 2001. Everyone aboard both aircraft died when the plane, flying from Wichita, Kansas, plunged into the icy Potomac River. Among the victims were 28 members of the figure skating community.

Doug Lane, who lost his wife Christine and son Spencer, described holding what remains of them: the U.S. figure skating jacket his son worked hard to earn and fragments of his wife's laptop recovered from the wreckage. He said the families have returned to Washington repeatedly over the 595 days since the crash, seeking changes before the disaster slips further from public attention.

"We can tell them stories, we can ask questions. We can push for answers. We can take action. That's the work that belongs to us. But we cannot do anybody else's work for them," Lane said. "We need the people with the power to turn this tragedy into change to do theirs and to finish it."

Senators Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell joined NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy at the event. Homendy said it would be a shame to reach the second anniversary of the crash without Congress passing the reforms her agency recommended and without further safety improvements from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Defense Department. Cruz said he hopes a bill can pass during the lame duck session after November's elections.

The FAA moved quickly after the crash to restrict helicopter traffic around Reagan National Airport once it became clear that a helicopter route in the approach path of the airport's secondary runway did not ensure enough separation between helicopters and planes. Controllers are now barred from relying solely on pilots to spot and avoid other aircraft. However, the NTSB remains unsatisfied with the FAA's response to a third of the 33 safety recommendations it issued. FAA Administrator Brian Bedford told lawmakers on Capitol Hill Tuesday that his staff will work to address those concerns but that he also needs guidance from Congress.

Concerns persist despite the changes. In one recent incident, an airline jet was allowed to take off just as President Donald Trump's helicopter was departing from the White House last month.

The reforms stalled earlier this year when a narrower Senate bill fell one vote short in the House after the military reversed course and opposed it at the last minute. Lawmakers are still trying to reconcile that bill with a more comprehensive House version that took a different approach on several key points, and passing anything ahead of the midterm elections may prove difficult.

Rachel Feres, who lost her cousin, his wife and their two young daughters, questioned why there is still debate over whether pilots carrying hundreds of passengers should have the best collision-avoidance technology available, when most modern cars come with sensors that check blind spots and apply brakes in emergencies. She and other families have been surprised by the lobbying against requiring all planes flying in crowded airspace to carry ADS-B In systems, which Homendy has said would have prevented the crash. Some airlines support the requirement, but cost concerns from other airlines and private plane owners have been a stumbling block.

"The airlines have the money and power to get this done," Feres said. "This is not about whether you can afford to act ... you have the leverage, you have the voice. The question is why safety so rarely gets the same urgency as the next quarterly earnings report."

"Do the thing you would demand if your wife and son were on that airplane. Do what you would do if your granddaughter was traveling home with her teddy bear. You know how to move fast when money is on the line. Move fast when lives are," she said.

Homendy said the families deserve to see more action. "We can't spend another moment looking them in the eye and doing nothing. We have to. We have an obligation," she said. "We owe it to these families. We owe it to passengers. We owe it to the traveling public. We owe it to cargo pilots and so much more to improve safety now."