Austin News

U.S. Senate Commerce Committee leaders have expressed frustration over the Army's continued refusal to cooperate with the committee's investigation into a midair collision on January 29, which resulted in the deaths of 67 individuals. This incident occurred near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Committee Chairman Ted Cruz and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell issued a statement condemning the Army's lack of compliance. They noted, "During last week’s hearing on the tragic crash at DCA that killed 67 people, and in a subsequent joint letter, we requested that the Department of Defense provide the Commerce Committee with a memo from August 2024 outlining its policies and procedures regarding the use—or lack thereof—of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) in the airspace around our nation’s capital. It is completely unacceptable that our request has been repeatedly ignored and that the Army continues to obstruct the Committee’s investigation into this horrific accident. We will consider using every option at our disposal to produce compliance and to ensure our investigation yields the answers the victims’ families and the American people deserve."

Following a hearing of the Subcommittee on Aviation, Space, and Innovation, Senators Cruz and Cantwell sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. The letter requested the immediate release of a memorandum dated August 9, 2024. This document, titled "ADS-B Out Off Operations in the National Airspace," was repeatedly withheld by the Army from Commerce Committee staff and denied upon request during the subcommittee hearing.