According to a report by Reuters on March 31, some bipartisan senators of the United States said that the US Army refused to hand over a 2024 report detailing why it usually did not activate an ADS-B safety system named when executing helicopter flight missions near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. This was considered one of the key factors leading to the collision between a US Army helicopter and a passenger plane on January 29 this year above the airport.

On January 29, a UH-60 "Black Hawk" helicopter of the Army collided with an American Airlines aircraft during routine training, resulting in the death of 67 people.

ADS-B - the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast system - is an advanced surveillance technology capable of transmitting real-time position information of aircraft.

Ted Cruz, chairman of the Republican Party of the US Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, and Maria Cantwell, senior Democrat of the committee, had requested the Army to submit this report before March 28.

Cruz and Cantwell said in a joint statement: "Our repeated requests have been ignored, and the Army has continued to obstruct the investigation of this terrible accident by the committee, which is completely unacceptable."

Last week, at a hearing, Cruz pressured Lieutenant General Matt Braman, head of the Army Aviation, about the Army's non-use of the ADS-B system in most flights.

"I hope the Army will re-examine its policy of enabling the ADS-B system now, today. If there is another accident involving a helicopter without ADS-B turned on above Reagan National Airport today, the Army will bear direct responsibility," Cruz said.

Civilian aircraft must use ADS-B, but the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved a rare exemption for the military in 2019. Senators stated that the military rarely used ADS-B in training flights over Washington.

Acting FAA Administrator Chris Roccaulo said on March 27 that the administration required ADS-B to be turned on in the airspace near Reagan National Airport, except in very few cases.

Jennifer Homendy, chairperson of the National Transportation Safety Board, told reporters that the board plans to conduct tests to determine whether using ADS-B could have made a difference.

On March 31, the FAA said it had notified NASA, the Department of Justice, the Pentagon, and the Department of Homeland Security last week to require ADS-B to be turned on near Reagan National Airport, except in cases such as "executing national security missions."

In addition, the National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA are investigating another incident at Reagan National Airport on March 28, when a Delta Air Lines A319 carrying 136 people narrowly avoided a collision with a group of US Air Force fighter jets. (Translated by Liu Zongya)

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