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Sunday, February 2, 2025

Weekly Update from Congressman Nick Langworthy

This week, our nation suffered a horrific tragedy when a U.S. military helicopter collided midair with an American Airlines regional flight over Washington’s Reagan Airport. As Americans, we join together to mourn the loss of the 67 passengers, crew and U.S. Servicemembers who perished in the crash. Then, just days later an air ambulance crash left seven dead and 19 injured in Philadelphia. Our prayers are with all the victims’ families and loved ones, as well as the brave first responders who have been working in extremely difficult circumstances on search and recovery.

In Western New York, the D.C. crash reignited the emotions of the tragic crash of Colgan Flight 3407, which was the last domestic commercial airline crash. Since that fateful day, we have enjoyed the safest period of air travel in the history of the world, and that is thanks to the lifesaving work of the 3407 families who--despite their immense grief--banded together to help enact legislation that strengthened pilot training standards for regional airline carriers. I was proud to join with them last year during the 2024 FAA Reauthorization, to ensure those requirements were protected.

Following the successful passage of my amendment, it was clear to me that we needed to establish a permanent coalition of lawmakers who are dedicated to safe skies, and that is how our Aviation Safety Caucus was born. I’m proud to lead this critical bipartisan caucus with my colleagues Jack Bergman from Michigan and Marc Veasey from Texas. We are anxiously awaiting to results of the official investigation by the National Transportation Safety Bureau, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Defense and all other agencies who are working diligently to uncover the facts that contributed to this deadly crash. President Trump has already assured the public that helicopter traffic has been removed from DCA airspace.

The Aviation Safety Caucus stands ready to act on whatever legislation is necessary as more information because clear as a result of this investigation. We will be working with our partners in government to ensure a preventable tragedy like this never happens again. I will continue to keep you updated on our work to protect all Americans’ safety in our skies.

Sincerely,

Rep. Nicholas A. Langworthy

Member of Congress