Three days of investigative hearings on the deadly midair collision over Washington, D.C., in January began Wednesday, aiming to reveal new insights into what caused the crash between a passenger plane and an Army helicopter. The American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas, collided with a Black Hawk helicopter while coming in for a landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport on Jan. 29, killing all 67 people aboard both aircraft.

The National Transportation Safety Board opened the hearings in Washington, with plans to question witnesses and investigators about how the actions of the Federal Aviation Administration and its air traffic controllers and the Army may have contributed to the nation’s deadliest plane crash since November 2001. It’s likely too early for the board to identify the cause of the crash.

  • seathru@lemmy.sdf.org
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    Sen. Ted Cruz isn’t waiting to propose changes. He introduced legislation Tuesday that would require all aircraft operators to use both forms of ADS-B, or Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast, the technology to broadcast aircraft location data to other planes and air traffic controllers.

    “There cannot be a double standard in aviation safety,” Cruz said. “We should not tolerate special exceptions for military training flights, operating in congested air space.”

    ‘Wholly agreeing with Ted Cruz’ was not on my bingo card today.