NTSB warns that defense bill could undermine aviation safety changes after DCA crash

NTSB warns that defense bill could undermine aviation safety changes after DCA crash

Joel Rose

December 10, 2025 / 3:03 pm

WASHINGTON — In an unusually harsh rebuke, the nation's top safety investigator voiced concerns about a provision in the defense policy bill before Congress on Wednesday, warning that it would undermine aviation safety improvements made after a deadly mid-air collision in January.

"It's a safety whitewash," National Safety Transportation Board chair Jennifer Homendy told reporters. "If it sounds like I'm mad, I am mad. This is shameful."

Homendy said the NTSB "vehemently" opposes a section in the massive National Defense Authorization Act that would roll back safety improvements that were recommended by the agency after the collision of a military Black Hawk