VIDEO: Sen. Moran Questions NTSB Chair Homendy on Findings from DCA Crash Investigation

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (Kan.) - member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation - today questioned National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy following the conclusion of the NTSB's investigation into the midair collision at Reagan National Airport (DCA) that claimed 67 lives on January 29, 2025. During the hearing, Sen. Moran asked Chair Homendy about the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) lack of a common definition for near misses, the circumstances that kept the safety concerns of air traffic controllers and other FAA employees from being relayed to FAA leadership and whether improved aviation safety standards have been implemented since the DCA crash.

"It's our responsibility - our responsibility in this committee and as members of the United States Senate - to turn the conclusions of the NTSB report into action," said Sen. Moran. "Congress must determine what steps we need to take following those recommendations, and we need to make sure that the FAA, the Army and all others are following those recommended and enacted safety measures. Following the year-long investigation, NTSB has affirmed again that passing and implementing the ROTOR Act could have - and I would say would have - saved lives on January the 29th, 2025. The passage and implementation of the ROTOR Act is critical to achieving the safety of our skies, and I urge the House not to delay in its passage."

Sen. Moran's full questioning of Chair Homendy can be found here.

The ROTOR Act, introduced by Sens. Moran and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), unanimously passed the Senate in December. The legislation is still awaiting consideration by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Click HERE to Watch Sen. Moran's Full Opening Remarks

Sen. Moran's full opening remarks as delivered:

"Mr. Chairman, thank you, and I join in supporting and commending your opening statement - you and the ranking member. I appreciate the demands and sentiments that you both expressed. I appreciate the way that you both have carried out this, conducting the hearings, allowing our subcommittee to take a significant role in pursuing safety measures and really directing the leadership, providing the leadership to this committee to take concrete actions to prevent other accidents from occurring in the future.

"We continue to mourn the losses of victims. We express our condolences on behalf of citizens of my state. We express our condolences to the members of the families who are present here today and those who are not. We remember the heroism that was displayed on the night of January 29th at DCA, at Reagan National Airport, as the heroic efforts were made to find and save lives, and I commend NTSB Chair Homendy and her team for their significant and diligent work.

"The calls for action that have been made by the chairman and the ranking member, it seems to me that I can't remember the circumstance in which we had the factual basis to be more unified in a response than what we have with the presence of what Chair Homendy and her team have provided us. In so many instances in Congress, we get this point of view and this point of view, and then we try to hash out who's telling us the truth and what matters in the conversation, and Chairwoman Homendy, I can't find a circumstance in which NTSB didn't do its job in a way that none of us should have doubts about the conclusions you reached and the recommendations you have provided.

"There is no excuse for us not to achieve the goal of those recommendations by passing legislation and perhaps as important, maybe even more importantly, to insist that once we pass legislation, that legislative effort is rewarded by action by the FAA and others so that it is implemented fully in a way that makes a difference.

"I've been in Congress long enough to see the circumstances in which often pass legislation, we issue the press release and say we've done something. But we haven't done anything until we've done something and that means the administration. The execution of those laws has to be fully fulfilled.

"It's our responsibility - our responsibility in this committee and as members of the United States Senate - to turn the conclusions of the NTSB report into action. Congress must determine what steps we need to take following those recommendations, and we need to make sure that the FAA, the Army and all others are following those recommended and enacted safety measures.

"Following the year-long investigation, NTSB has affirmed again that passing and implementing the ROTOR Act could have - and I would say would have - saved lives on January the 29th, 2025. The passage and implementation of the ROTOR Act is critical to achieving the safety of our skies, and I urge the House not to delay in its passage. The chairman made the point that every day that goes by creates a greater risk for others. If there's something that needs to be addressed in the ROTOR Act, don't delay. Let's have the conversation and fix something if there's something missing or wrong. That doesn't mean watering it down.

"Additionally, Congress must continue to provide the funding that is necessary to further modernize our aviation system, advance new technologies at the FAA - the FAA Administrator was in front of us with a roundtable discussion yesterday about implementation of advanced technologies in the system. We must continue to recruit, train and support air traffic controllers. No steps back, moving forward, act on the recommendations and make sure that January 29th never happens again."

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