The chair of the National Transportation Safety Board warned Wednesday that a section in the National Defense Authorization Act would weaken safety measures near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy specifically cited the board’s investigation into the January 29 collision between an Army helicopter and a commercial jet that killed 67 people. The investigation found that the military helicopter was not using enhanced tracking technology. The recently passed defense authorization bill creates a waiver for military aircraft to turn off their enhanced tracking software while flying on national security missions through parts of the Washington, D.C., airspace.

Jennifer Homendy: “This is a significant, significant safety setback. It represents an unacceptable risk to the flying public, to commercial and military aircraft crews and to the residents in the region. It’s also an unthinkable dismissal of our investigation and of 67 families, 67 families who lost loved ones in a tragedy that was entirely preventable. This is shameful.”