Brian Bedford, the nominee for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) by Donald Trump, said on Tuesday that the 85 attempted aviation accidents that occurred at Washington Reagan National Airport since 2021 were “unacceptable”. He particularly mentioned the tragedy on January 29 this year when a Black Hawk helicopter collided with a passenger plane, resulting in 67 deaths, and questioned why the FAA had not addressed the safety hazard before. Data from the National Transportation Safety Board of the United States shows that the airport has recorded more than 15,200 incidents of overly close flight distances in recent years.
Bedford emphasized that if appointed, he would prioritize enhancing aviation safety and restoring public confidence. On Wednesday, the acting administrator of the FAA, the chairperson of the National Transportation Safety Board and Army aviation generals will be questioned by the Senate regarding the incident on May 1 where two passenger planes were forced to resume flights due to interference by military helicopters. After the incident, the FAA has banned the Army from conducting training flights around the Pentagon.
A bipartisan group of ten former FAA chiefs jointly supported Bedford, claiming that he was the right person to lead the modernization of the air traffic control system. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy plans to promote tens of billions of dollars in air traffic control reform funds. Meanwhile, more than twenty senators demanded that the Inspector General’s audit of the January air crash be initiated.
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