Potomac Mid-Air Collision: USDOT Opens Audit Of FAA Washington D.C. Airspace Oversight

On January 29, 2025, a US Army Black Hawk helicopter collided midair with a PSA Airlines ( American Eagle ) Bombardier CRJ-700 over the Potomac River as it approached Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), killing all 67 people aboard both aircraft. In response, the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General (DOT OIG) has launched an audit to examine the FAA’s oversight of airspace around DCA, especially its handling of ADS-B Out exemptions. The audit, announced on August 8, 2025, aims to determine whether safety gaps in airspace design and exemption processes contributed to this fatal accident.

The audit responds to mounting criticism of the FAA ’s management of highly congested airspace near the nation’s capital, with over 15,000 separation issues record