House panel recommends Defense Department’s IG probe fatal commercial jet, Army helicopter crash

A House subcommittee on Military and Foreign Affairs on Monday released a bipartisan staff report that looks at how the fatal midair collision on Jan. 25 between a commercial jet and Army helicopter occurred and how the Defense Department may have contributed to the crash.The report was released by panel Chairman Rep. William Timmons, a South Carolina Republican, and Virginia Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, the top Democrat on the panel.
 The title of the report on the crash between American Airlines flight 5342 and a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter is  “The DCA Incident: Assessing the Military’s Role in the National Airspace Tragedy.” 
Everybody on board was killed.
The report recommends the DoD Inspector General conduct a comprehensive evaluation of all operations in civilian airspace within the United States with an emphasis on safety, coordination, and compliance.
“The tragic accident at DCA … and 30 near misses overall have revealed that the military’s current operations fall woefully short of keeping both military personnel and American civilians safe in Washington, D.C. airspace,” the report states. “Several briefings on this issue have highlighted the pressing need for clearer military flight protocols, enhanced training, and regular audits of flight operations and capabilities within the DoD.”

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