Warner blasts 'dastardly' NDAA provision easing helicopter restrictions near Reagan National
Senator joins Virginia House delegation in criticizing measure ahead of crash anniversary
Sen. Mark Warner criticized a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act that would ease military helicopter restrictions near Reagan Washington National Airport, calling it “disrespectful” to families affected by the deadly January crash.
The measure, which passed the House Wednesday night, creates a waiver process allowing military training flights in airspace around the airport. The provision’s sponsors and the Defense Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on its purpose.
“As we approach next month and the one-year anniversary of the terrible tragedy that took place at National Airport, somebody snuck into this bill the ability for the military to kind of back off on some of the restrictions we put, particularly in terms of helicopter flights around National,” Warner said during a media availability Thursday.
Warner called the provision “dastardly” and said he has “vivid memories of showing up at Reagan less than 12 hours after the crash.”
An Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with American Airlines Flight 5342 on Jan. 29, killing 67 people.
NTSB hearings over the summer revealed the helicopter’s altimeter was broken, reading 80 to 100 feet lower than the aircraft’s actual altitude. The helicopter was flying at 278 feet — well above the 200-foot ceiling on that route — when it struck the airliner.
The hearings also revealed the FAA had been warned years earlier about helicopter dangers in the area. An FAA working group tried to add a warning to helicopter charts in 2022, but the agency refused. The NTSB said the FAA failed to recognize 85 near misses around Reagan in the three years before the collision.
Six Virginia House members issued a joint statement Wednesday expressing concerns about the NDAA provision. Reps. Don Beyer, Suhas Subramanyam, James Walkinshaw, Bobby Scott, Jennifer McClellan, and Eugene Vindman said Section 373 “falls short of NTSB’s preliminary safety recommendations.”
The delegation said the waiver process could “further congest the airspace, an issue that contributed to January’s deadly crash.”
“Further action is needed to prevent a repetition of the mistakes that led to this incident, and we will continue working with all possible speed on legislative solutions with our colleagues and transportation officials to get this right before any waivers are issued,” the delegation said.
Warner said he would still vote for the defense bill, which includes a 3.8% military pay increase and improvements to military housing. The Senate has not scheduled a vote on the measure.
During the same media availability, Warner also demanded the release of video footage showing U.S. military strikes against drug boats in the Caribbean and criticized Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as “not competent for the job.”
The collision’s one-year anniversary is Jan. 29. The victims included a group of elite young figure skaters, their parents and coaches, and four union steamfitters from the Washington area.