Army has yet to answer key questions more than a month after initial briefing

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) sent a letter pressing Brigadier General Matthew Braman, Director, Army Aviation for Headquarters, for more information on the tragic crash between American Airlines Flight 5342 and an Army Blackhawk in the DCA airspace. The Army’s timely response to Congress would inform Congressional oversight into the Army’s use of ADS-B Out.

General Braman has been asked to testify at a March 27^th hearing on the crash.

Last month, Sens. Cruz and Moran hosted a briefing for Commerce Committee members with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and the Army. During the discussion, the Army committed to providing answers to questions that required further review, and the letter sent today requests responses to still unanswered inquiries as simple as how often did the Army transport flag officers by helicopter. 

Earlier today, Sen. Cruz reiterated the need for the Army to provide answers in response to the NTSB preliminary report: “The NTSB preliminary report underscores the need for the Army to uphold a commitment it made to give Commerce Committee lawmakers answers about Army helicopter flights in the DCA airspace. The Army should turn over this information prior to our March 27th hearing at which they have been asked to testify.”

In?their letter to the Army, Sens. Cruz and Moran wrote:?

“Thank you for appearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (Committee) on February 6 to discuss the tragic crash of an Army Blackhawk and American Airlines Flight 5342, operated by PSA Airlines. Many of the topics discussed at that roundtable were concerning and require prompt attention.

“Following the roundtable, the Army and the Department of Defense committed to providing responses to questions from Committee members that required further review. Given the high-profile nature of the accident, the multi-agency investigations, and the urgent need to understand and correct vulnerabilities, these lines of inquiry are vital to the Committee’s review of the accident.

“It has now been one month since the roundtable and key questions remain unanswered including:

• How frequently does the Army turn off ADS-B transmission?

• How many helicopter flights on average are there in the DCA airspace and what types? Specifically, how many flights are training missions, how many are for transporting flag officers, and how many are other VIP missions?

• “Subsequently, a member of Congress announced the Army stated in 2023 that ADS-B Out is turned off for 100 percent of missions operated by the Army Air Brigade at Fort Belvoir. This appears to contradict what you told the Committee on February 6 that the exemption from transmitting ADS-B Out data should not be used for routine flights. It has now been three weeks since I requested additional information regarding this letter and the Army Air Brigade’s use of ADS-B Out:

• Is it accurate that ADS-B Out is off for 100 percent of missions flown by the Army Air Brigade at Fort Belvoir?
• Does “missions” capture training flights? If not, what percentage of training flights are completed with ADS-B Out not transmitting?

• Over the past two years, how frequently has the 12th Aviation Battalion disabled ADS-B Out for training flights versus mission support flights?
• What specific circumstances or mission types authorize aircrews to disable ADS-B Out in the National Capital Region (NCR) per the FAA/DoD ADS-B MOA?

• “Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

Read the full text of this letter HERE.

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