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US Army turns over helicopter safety memo to Congress

By Thomson Reuters Apr 10, 2025 | 12:22 PM

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Army has turned over to the Senate a 2024 report detailing why it routinely failed to use a safety system known as ADS-B on helicopter flights around ReaganWashington National Airport, Senator Ted Cruz said Thursday.

Cruz, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, had threatened to subpoena the memo but the army turned it over to the Senate Armed Services Committee, which then gave it to the Commerce Committee, he told Reuters. An Army Black Hawk helicopter did not have the system operating during a routine training mission when it collided with an American Airlines regional jet on January 29 near the airport, killing 67 people. An Army official confirmed that the report had been sent to the Armed Services Committee.

(Reporting by David Shepardson and Idrees Ali, Editing by Franklin Paul)