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DOT Inspector General Launches Audit of FAA’s D.C. Airspace Management

The audit will probe how FAA’s airspace design, along with its ADS-B exemption process, contributed to recurring safety gaps.

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A crane retrieves part of the wreckage from the Potomac River, in the aftermath of the collision of American Eagle flight 5342 and a Black Hawk helicopter that crashed into the river, by the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., February 4, 2025. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo
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Overview

  • The DOT Office of Inspector General has opened a month-long audit into the FAA’s oversight of congested Reagan National airspace and its approval of military ADS-B Out exemptions.
  • Investigators will examine how the FAA’s policy allowing “sensitive” military missions to bypass ADS-B broadcasting may have undermined collision-avoidance systems.
  • Senators Maria Cantwell and Ted Cruz introduced bills to bar ADS-B exemptions for training flights and require ADS-B In capability across all aircraft within five years.
  • The FAA continues to enforce restricted helicopter routes around the Pentagon after suspending Army flights following a May 1 close call, despite signing a new agreement with the military on July 1.
  • The audit follows NTSB findings of over 15,000 air separation incidents near DCA since 2021 and criticism of controller staffing and procedural lapses before the January midair crash.