Flight Safety Information - February 27, 2026 No. 042 In This Issue : Incident: Iberojet A359 at San Jose on Feb 21st 2026, temporary runway excursion : Incident: Wizz Malta A321 at Bucharest on Feb 26th 2026, problem with angle of attack sensors : Embraer E195-E2 - Bird Strike/Damage (Brazil) : US military used laser to take down Border Protection drone, lawmakers say : Pilot Shouted 'Birds!' Seconds Before Impact That Took Out 8 Canada Geese and Filled the Cockpit with Smoke : Frontier passenger escorted off flight amid wild, foul-mouthed tirade at staff: ‘Get the f–k out of my face’ : Stowaway Svetlana Dali successfully sneaks on plane to Europe again, sources say : Navy says human error caused jet crash in San Diego Bay last winter : Widow of Caldwell pilot killed in UPS plane crash files first lawsuit against Boeing, General Electric : NTSB chair slams House aviation bill as ‘watered-down’ after 67 deaths near Washington : Calendar of Events Incident: Iberojet A359 at San Jose on Feb 21st 2026, temporary runway excursion An Iberojet Airbus A350-900, registration EC-NBO performing flight E9-857 from Madrid,SP (Spain) to San Jose (Costa Rica), landed on San Jose's runway 07 however, veered to the right and contacted runway edge lights before steering back onto the runway centerline. The aircraft taxied to the apron. The airport reported there was an incident involving an Iberojet aircraft arriving from Madrid that affected the runway lighting system, the aircraft went to the apron without difficulties. The aircraft departed for the return flight with a delay of about 3.5 hours. On Feb 27th 2026 Costa Rica's UAI rated the occurrence a serious incident and opened an investigation reporting a runway excursion during landing on runway 07 at San Jose. https://avherald.com/h?article=53572ac4&opt=0 Incident: Wizz Malta A321 at Bucharest on Feb 26th 2026, problem with angle of attack sensors A Wizz Air Malta Airbus A321-200, registration 9H-WZC performing flight W4-3005 from Bucharest Otopeni (Romania) to London Luton,EN (UK), was climbing out of Otopeni's runway 08R when the crew stopped the climb at FL080 and entered a hold, stating they were not declaring emergency. The crew later advised they had some indications regarding their angle of attack sensors, would burn off fuel and return to Bucharest, everything was good though. The aircraft landed safely on Otopeni's runway 08L about 35 minutes after departure. A replacement Wizz Air Airbus A321-200 registration HA-LTA reached Luton with a delay of about 3.5 hours. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Bucharest about 7 hours after landing. https://avherald.com/h?article=535a683b&opt=0 Embraer E195-E2 - Bird Strike/Damage (Brazil) Date: Thursday 26 February 2026 Time: c. 13:45 LT Type: Embraer E195-E2 Owner/operator: Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras Registration: PS-AEX MSN: 19020145 Year of manufacture: 2024 Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: Other fatalities: 0 Aircraft damage: Minor Location: near Campinas, SP - Brazil Phase: Initial climb Nature: Passenger - Scheduled Departure airport: São Paulo/Campinas-Viracopos International Airport, SP (VCP/SBKP) Destination airport: Campo Grande Internacional Airport, MS (CGR/SBCG) Confidence Rating: Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources Narrative: Azul flight AD2700 from Campinas to Campo Grande, operated by a Embraer E195-E2, PS-AEX, suffered a birdstrike during the climb, causing the separation of an engine panel. The aircraft returned to Campinas. https://www.aviation-safety.net/wikibase/567422 US military used laser to take down Border Protection drone, lawmakers say The U.S. military used a laser Thursday to shoot down a “seemingly threatening” drone flying near the U.S.-Mexico border. It turned out the drone belonged to Customs and Border Protection, lawmakers said. The case of mistaken identity prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to close additional airspace around Fort Hancock, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of El Paso. The military is required to formally notify the FAA when it takes any counter-drone action inside U.S. airspace. It was the second time in two weeks that a laser was fired in the area. The last time it was CBP that used the weapon and nothing was hit. That incident occurred near Fort Bliss and prompted the FAA to shut down air traffic at El Paso airport and the surrounding area. This time, the closure was smaller and commercial flights were not affected. Washington U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen and two other top Democrats on the House Transportation and Infrastructure and Homeland Security committees said they were stunned when they were officially notified. “Our heads are exploding over the news,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement. They criticized the Trump administration for “sidestepping” a bipartisan bill to train drone operators and improve communication among the Pentagon, FAA and Department of Homeland Security, which includes CBP. "Now, we’re seeing the result of its incompetence,” they said. Government defends use of anti-drone laser The FAA, CBP and the Pentagon issued a joint statement late Thursday that acknowledged the military “employed counter-unmanned aircraft system authorities to mitigate a seemingly threatening unmanned aerial system operating within military airspace.” The statement said it happened far from populated areas and commercial flights as part of the administration's efforts to strengthen protections at the border. “At President Trump’s direction, the Department of War, FAA, and Customs and Border Patrol are working together in an unprecedented fashion to mitigate drone threats by Mexican cartels and foreign terrorist organizations at the U.S.-Mexico Border," the statement said. Second time these laser systems shut down Texas airspace this month The El Paso shutdown two weeks ago lasted only a few hours, but it raised alarm and led to a number of flight cancellations in the city of nearly 700,000 people. In that case, an anti-drone laser was deployed by CBP without coordinating with the FAA, which then decided to close the El Paso airspace to ensure commercial air safety, according to sources familiar with what happened and weren’t authorized to discuss it. Afterward, members of Congress said it appeared to be another example of different agencies failing to coordinate with each other. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he was planning to brief members of Congress about the incident. He said at an unrelated news conference last Friday that it wasn’t a mistake for the FAA to close the airspace in El Paso and that he doesn’t think it was a communication issue that led to the problems. Lawmaker demands an investigation Illinois Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, the ranking member on the Senate’s Aviation Subcommittee, called for an independent investigation. “The Trump administration’s incompetence continues to cause chaos in our skies,” Duckworth said. The investigation into last year’s midair collision near Washington, D.C., between an airliner and Army helicopter that killed 67 people highlighted how the FAA and Pentagon were not always working well together. The National Transportation Safety Board said the FAA and the Army did not share safety data with each other about the alarming number of close calls around Reagan National Airport and failed to address the risks. Concern about drone threats growing Two months ago, Congress agreed to give more law enforcement agencies — including some state and local departments — the authority to take down rogue drones as long as they are properly trained. Previously, only a select few federal agencies had that power. Armed drones regularly carry out devastating attacks in Ukraine and have also allowed Ukraine to strike deep within Russia. The U.S. government has handed out more than $250 million to help the states prepare to respond to drones before hosting World Cup matches and celebrations planned this summer for America’s 250th birthday. Another $250 million in grants will be awarded later this year to strengthen the nation’s drone defenses. Drones already causing problems Drones already cause problems along the border. Cartels routinely use drones to deliver drugs across the Mexican border and surveil Border Patrol officers. Officials told Congress last summer that more than 27,000 drones were detected within 1,600 feet (500 meters) of the southern border in the last six months of 2024. The threat to planes from drones continues to increase along with the number of near misses around airports. Homeland Security estimates there are more than 1.7 million registered drones flying in the United States. Anti-drone systems can use radio signals to jam drones, or high-powered microwaves or laser beams like the ones that have been used in Texas that are capable of disabling the machines. Some others station small drones to take flight quickly and ram into threatening drones. And there are systems that use bullets, but those are more common on battlefields than in domestic use. https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/lawmakers-us-military-used-laser-022023186.html Pilot Shouted 'Birds!' Seconds Before Impact That Took Out 8 Canada Geese and Filled the Cockpit with Smoke A new NTSB report details the bird strike that forced an Amazon cargo plane to make an emergency landing in Kentucky 8 minutes after takeoff An Amazon cargo plane made an emergency landing after a bird strike shortly after takeoff in Kentucky The crew reported smoke in the cockpit, donned oxygen masks, and safely landed eight minutes after takeoff Investigators found bird remains on the plane and damage to both engines, with eight Canada geese involved in the strike New details are emerging out of the bloody bird strike that forced an Amazon cargo plane to make an emergency landing last month. The incident occurred on the afternoon of Wednesday, Jan. 28 at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) in Hebron, Ky., a spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed to PEOPLE at the time. The plane, an Airbus A330-300, utilizes one of its air carriers partners and uses the call sign Alaska Airlines 2616. According to FlightAware, the flight took off towards the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston at 3:05 p.m. local time. “Left engine, we took a bird intake, we just want to come back and land,” a pilot can be heard telling air traffic control in a recording obtained by LiveATC.net. A new report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is shedding light on exactly what happened in the moments leading up to the incident. “While climbing through 900-1,000 ft., the captain observed a flock of geese flying from right to left,” the report, published on Feb. 25, says. “The captain, who was the pilot monitoring, called out ‘Birds!’ and then the flight crew felt multiple birds impact the left and right side of the plane.” Crews then observed an engine 1 fault indication, immediately followed by an engine 1 failure notification. The captain then alerted air traffic control of the strike, declared an emergency, and requested a return to CVG, per the report. During the return, the flight crew observed smoke entering the cockpit. They quickly donned their oxygen masks and configured the airplane for landing. “Alaska 2616 heavy, we have smoke in the cockpit,” a crew member says in the air traffic control recording. Eventually, the crew “determined the smoke had dissipated and removed their oxygen masks for the remainder of the approach and landing.” FlightAware reports the plane landed 3:13 p.m., after just eight minutes in the air. Luckily the plane landed safely and no injuries were reported. After landing, the plane was stopped on the runway and airport rescue and firefighters inspected the aircraft. They determined there was no fire on the airplane and the aircraft was eventually towed to the ramp. “Airport operations personnel stated that they received the remains of eight Canada geese after the event,” the report says. During a post-accident examination of the aircraft, investigators discovered bird remnants on the left main landing gear door and strut. Both engines also showed signs of bird ingestion. “The left engine fan had restricted rotation and was visibly misaligned,” the report says. “The right engine fan rotated freely.” The NTSB confirmed it will continue to investigate the incident. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. An Amazon representative also confirmed the aircraft “experienced a bird strike shortly after takeoff.” “Thankfully, no one was hurt and the crew is safe. The aircraft returned to the airport as a precaution, and impact to our customers is expected to be minimal,” the spokesperson said. https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/pilot-shouted-birds-seconds-impact-160650031.html Frontier passenger escorted off flight amid wild, foul-mouthed tirade at staff: ‘Get the f–k out of my face’ A Frontier Airlines passenger swore at crew members while being escorted off the plane, video shows. A Frontier Airlines passenger was caught on video swearing at crew members while being escorted off a flight to Colorado. Footage captured the chaotic moment an unruly Frontier Airlines passenger bombarded crew members with expletives while being escorted off a flight to Colorado. In the F-bomb-laden clip, which boasts over 2 million views on TikTok, a blonde woman in a yellow hoodie is seen marching up the aisle of a plane flanked by staff members as the plane touches down in Denver. “Everybody stay seated,” the hellion quips, before proceeding to lay into a female air staffer at the front of the plane. It’s unclear what prompted the woman’s outburst aboard the packed plane. “Out of my f–king way,” she demands, to which the flight attendant calmly replies, “We’re getting out of your way, sweetheart.” However, this does nothing to soothe the profane passenger, who rants, “Let me exit b–h…exit stage right motherf—er.” “Out of my f–king way,” the passenger yelled while berating flight attendants. REUTERS At one point during her tirade, the unruly flyer accuses the air hostess of not being able to open the “f–king exit door.” Hoping to help resolve the situation, a fellow flyer attempts to ask her to take a seat, but to no avail as she tells the male crew member behind her to “back up.” “Back the f–k up,” she demands. “That means you get the f–k out of my face and I walk off and then you get arrested.” It’s yet unclear if the flyer faced any consequences upon arrival. “The hell is going on with people!?!” one appalled commenter wrote. “Why can’t anyone just take a flight and get to your destination without any problems? This is sad.” “That no fly list gotta be long as hell by now with all these videos I’m constantly seeing,” quipped another. “They get dressed, pack and drive all the way to the airport… somehow when they get on the plane the whole plan falls apart,” commented a third. Others commended the flight attendant for remaining cool under pressure. “That flight attendant has the patience of a SAINT,” said one fan. The Post reached out to Frontier for comment. Meanwhile, A View From the Wing contributor Gary Leff saw the incident as all-too-common aboard Frontier, remarking that the budget carrier’s plan to install first-class seats seemed futile given that “their customers aren’t first class.” He then cited several examples of unruly outbursts in the past. These included a passenger who was set off after being asked if she was from Florida, and a woman who had to be carried off a plane in Miami after trying to fight fellow passengers and bite a cop. Leff invoked controversial comments by Delta CEO Ed Bastian, who attributed the epidemic of bad airplane behavior to the fact that, unlike back in the day, the “masses” can afford to fly. The travel writer said that while the airline big-wig was wrong, he declared that “ultra-low cost carriers do tend to have more of these issues” and that they seem to be more “common on American than on United, as well.” https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/frontier-passenger-escorted-off-flight-145745458.html Stowaway Svetlana Dali successfully sneaks on plane to Europe again, sources say A woman previously convicted of sidestepping security and airline agents to board a flight to Paris without a ticket has been detained in Milan, Italy for allegedly stowing away yet again. Svetlana Dali snuck by the airline employees at Gate C74 at Newark Liberty International Airport and onto United flight 19, Wednesday night according to a law enforcement source. The Boeing 777-200, which seats 364, departed Newark at 5:51 p.m. ET, according to FlightAware. Sometime during the more than seven-hour flight airline staff on the plane discovered Dali was onboard without a ticket. When the plane landed in Milan at 7:09 a.m. Thursday, she was detained by law enforcement. “Safety and security are our highest priorities,” United Airlines said in a statement. “We are investigating this incident and working with the appropriate authorities.” The FBI in Newark told CNN they are aware of the “alleged stowaway.” “We are working with Port Authority and TSA on this open investigation,” said FBI spokesperson Emily Molinari in a statement. CNN has reached out to the Transportation Security Administration for more information. Dali stows-away to Paris in November 2024 In November 2024, Dali, who is a Russian national and US permanent resident, successfully stowed away on Delta Air Lines flight 264 from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. Security video released after her arrest, showed Dali bypassing an airport employee in charge of a crew member security checkpoint and walking with airline staff past the station where her ID and boarding pass would have been checked. At that point, she was scanned and received a pat-down while her possessions were screened. At the gate, with a grey hoodie pulled over her head, Dali placed herself in the middle of what appeared to be a family traveling together and made it past the gate agent without being noticed. Once onboard the plane, she spent some time apparently hiding in the bathroom to remain out of the crew’s sight, but was eventually discovered, other passengers told CNN. She was detained after arriving in Paris. Dali was returned to the United States and appeared in federal court in Brooklyn, where her court appointed lawyer argued for her release. “We do not believe she is a serious risk of flight,” federal public defense attorney Michael Schneider told the court at the time. “It’s not as if she can sneak on a flight every day.” Yet, shortly after getting out of jail, pending trial, Dali tried to leave the United States again, prosecutors said. In December 2024, she managed to cut off an electronic ankle monitor and boarded a Greyhound bus bound for Canada, a law enforcement source told CNN at the time. Dali was arrested and held in custody for more than seven months until her conviction for illegally boarding the Paris flight. She was subsequently sentenced to time served. During her sentencing, Dali repeated a claim that she believes she is being poisoned by someone and said, through a Russian translator, that “all of these actions were taken in order to save my life.” Paris flight was not her first attempt, prosecutors said During her trial for stowing away to France, prosecutors said she had attempted to board flights without documentation at least twice before. Dali tried to stowaway on a plane at Bradley International Airport near Hartford, Connecticut, two days before she made it on the plane at JFK, they said. And In February 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents discovered her hiding in a bathroom in a secured area in the international arrivals zone of Miami International Airport. https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/stowaway-svetlana-dali-successfully-sneaks-195821380.html Navy says human error caused jet crash in San Diego Bay last winter The two-man E/A-18G aircraft experienced problems while participating in joint military exercises off San Diego The crash of a Navy jet into San Diego Bay last February after its crew ejected was the result of human error and represents a $109 million loss for the military, according to a Navy investigation report. The mishap occurred on Feb. 12, 2025, and involved two crew members from Electronic Attack Squadron 135 out of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Wash., who were participating in a joint training exercise based at North Island. The crew members were using an E/A-18G Growler equipped with software they were not familiar with and which issued a warning advisory during aerial refueling, says the report, which the Union-Tribune obtained this week through the Freedom of Information Act. The pilot and his electronic warfare officer also struggled with a wet runway at Naval Air Station North Island during their second attempt to land, when winds were creating a tailwind on the landing runway. They were unable to sufficiently slow the jet, forcing them to use the plane’s afterburners to pull up. The unidentified pilot says in the report that the plane’s brakes felt “mushy” and that he felt “the jet was not going to stop in time.” He said the tower controller called out “not enough runway,” which he said “caused some confusion and concern,” and he called for the ejection. They were carried into the harbor by their parachutes. A nearby fishing boat pulled them aboard. They suffered minor injuries. The plane soared upward to roughly 8,000 feet, then did a 1-minute, 15-second nose-dive into one of the busiest harbor channels in California. The report does not make clear whether the jet flew over heavily populated areas of Point Loma on its way to crashing about 250 yards from Shelter Island. According to the report, the plane assigned for their mission was leaking fuel from its starboard engine, forcing them to use a backup E/A-18 Growler. The aircraft took off and underwent aerial refueling, but the crew noted an unexpected advisory: normal fuel transfer from the wings was unavailable. The crew completed the fueling but were so concerned about the warning that they decided to return to North Island. Along the way, they reduced their fuel load. The report says the crew was not expecting the adverse weather conditions they found. At the time of the mishap, some E/A-18 Growlers were transitioning to a new type of software meant to help them to conduct airborne electronic warfare, mostly to protect aircraft carriers from enemy attacks. This drew criticism from investigators, who say in the report that, “Critical phases of training are not the time to undergo massive maintenance and aircraft overhaul. The training of aircrew and maintenance professionals should have been the priority” during the squadron’s readiness phase training. The report also says the warning during refueling should have been expected, and the crew should have “annotated it as normal.” “The mishap aircraft … was safe for flight and did not experience any malfunctions in flight that would have prevented the aircraft from completing the scheduled flight or from stopping safely upon return to base,” the report said. The report says investigators could not definitively determine the cause of the crash because the aircraft was destroyed. But they ruled out mechanical failure as a “likely contributor” and added that, “The evidence instead indicates the mishap was caused by human error exacerbated by a confluence of factors: adverse weather, poor crew resource management, low aircraft currency and proficiency, and reduced familiarity with the newly instituted H18 software. “These elements collectively compounded the severity of the pilot’s critical decision to delay a go-around or divert to a more suitable airfield,” the report says. In a nuanced addition, the report notes that, “There is insufficient evidence to determine whether life stressors and (operational tempo) were contributing factors to the mishap, but they do generally contribute to fatigue and increased risk to operation.” The wife of one of the crew members had recently had a baby, which he said caused him stress because he had to leave his wife and new child at home while away on assignment. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle recently told reporters in San Diego that a long, fast operational tempo has a highly negative impact on many sailors, many of whom end up deciding to leave the military. The reference to the weather didn’t surprise retired Navy Capt. Greg “Chaser” Keithley of Escondido, who was a crew member on F-14 and F/A18 aircraft. “North Island Naval Air Station is not an easy place to land during adverse weather,” Keithley said. “A wet runway is a wet runway.” Following the crash, crane operators and divers recovered about 33,400 pounds of debris from the aircraft, which was in pieces roughly 30 feet below the surface. A safety zone was set up, which temporarily restricted the movement of boats near Shelter Island and Naval Base Point Loma. The loss of an E/A-18G Growler is not insignificant. They are the main aircraft the Navy uses for airborne electronic attacks, especially when it comes to suppressing enemy air defense systems. Some of these planes are part of the airwing of the San Diego-based aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which is currently patrolling in the Middle East, within striking distance of Iran. https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/02/26/navy-says-jet-that-crashed-into-san-diego-bay-last-winter-caused-by-human-error/ Widow of Caldwell pilot killed in UPS plane crash files first lawsuit against Boeing, General Electric An aviation attorney says Boeing is partly responsible for the UPS Flight 2976 crash in Louisville. CALDWELL, Texas (KBTX) - The widow of Dana Diamond, a Caldwell pilot who was killed in last November’s deadly UPS Flight 2976 crash in Louisville, Kentucky, has filed the first lawsuit on behalf of a flight crew member’s surviving family. According to attorneys with The Lanier Law Firm, the lawsuit was filed on Wednesday against airplane manufacturer Boeing Co., engine manufacturer General Electric Co., and maintenance provider VT San Antonio Aerospace. “That’s Not an Accident” Mark Lanier, lead attorney for the plaintiff, said the circumstances of the crash point to corporate negligence rather than an accident. “When an engine separates from a wing seconds after takeoff, that’s not an accident,” Lanier said in a statement to KBTX. “That’s a failure by the companies responsible for building and maintaining that aircraft.” Details of the Crash Diamond was serving as the international relief officer on UPS Flight 2976, which crashed on takeoff in November 2025. The aircraft, an MD-11F cargo plane bound for Honolulu, experienced catastrophic failure shortly after leaving the runway at Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport. According to flight data cited in the lawsuit, the aircraft’s left engine and pylon separated from the wing seconds after takeoff, triggering a fire and subsequent crash in an industrial area south of the airport. The plane failed to reach over 100 feet in altitude during the 37 seconds it was airborne before crashing into warehouses and buildings in the area. The crash claimed the lives of three crew members, including Diamond, and 12 individuals on the ground, making it the deadliest plane crash in UPS history. A Life Dedicated to Safety Dana Justin Diamond served as a pilot for UPS for more than 37 years. He had achieved the No. 1 seniority position on the MD-11 and ranked No. 5 overall among all of UPS’s pilots. Before relocating to Burleson County, Diamond served as fire chief for the Rosansky 3-N-1 Volunteer Fire Department, now part of Bastrop County’s ESD 1. Online records show Diamond had been a certified flight engineer and airline transport pilot rated for 727 and MD-11 planes since 2009. Diamond received his certification as a flight instructor for both single and multiengine aircraft in 1985. Beyond his professional responsibilities, Diamond was deeply committed to aviation safety. He played a significant role in union leadership and was vice chairman of the Independent Pilots Association’s Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Committee from 2012 to 2017, helping educate more than 1,000 personnel from across the nation in airport emergency services. The Lawsuit The lawsuit filed in Division Six Circuit Court of Jefferson County, Kentucky, names three defendants: Boeing Co., General Electric Co., and VT San Antonio Aerospace. The aircraft, which had been converted for cargo operations and operated by UPS since 2006, was equipped with CF6 engines designed and manufactured by General Electric. According to the lawsuit, VT San Antonio Aerospace had performed maintenance work on the aircraft in the weeks before the crash. Sam E. Taylor, a senior litigation counsel with The Lanier Law Firm, said the case reflects the need for accountability. “Dana was passionate about pilot safety and devoted to his family, friends, and community,” Taylor said. “This tragedy was an absolute betrayal of everything Dana stood for and the professional and personal contributions he made in his life. Through this litigation and Dana’s sacrifice, we will learn more about the causes of this crash and steps to prevent a reoccurrence.” The lawsuit, Donna Lynn Diamond v. VT San Antonio Aerospace Inc. et al., asserts claims for wrongful death, negligence, loss of consortium, and related damages for the failures that contributed to the engine separation and resulting crash. The complaint also requests punitive damages and a trial by jury. https://www.kbtx.com/2026/02/26/widow-caldwell-pilot-killed-ups-plane-crash-files-first-lawsuit-against-boeing-general-electric/ NTSB chair slams House aviation bill as ‘watered-down’ after 67 deaths near Washington The head of the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday it’s misleading for members of the House to say their package of aviation safety reforms would address the recommendations that her agency made in January to prevent another midair collision like the one last year near Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people. NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said the House bill’s “watered-down” requirements wouldn’t do enough to prevent a future tragedy, and wouldn’t be nearly as effective as a Senate bill that came up just one vote short of passing in the House earlier this week. The full NTSB followed up Thursday afternoon with a formal letter to two key House committees, saying that they can’t support the bill right now “We can have disagreements over policy all day. But when something is sold as these are the NTSB recommendations and that is not factually accurate, we have a problem with that. Because now you’re using the NTSB and you’re using people who lost loved ones in terrible tragedies,” Homendy said. “You’re using their pain to move your agenda forward.” The key concern of Homendy and the families of the people who died in the crash on Jan. 29, 2025, is that they believe all aircraft should be required to have key locator systems that the NTSB has been recommending since 2008, which would allow the pilots to know more precisely where the traffic around them is flying. The Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Out systems that broadcast an aircraft’s location are already required around busy airports. It’s the ADS-B In systems that can receive data about the locations of other aircraft that isn’t yet standard. The House bill would ask the Federal Aviation Administration to draft a rule to require the best locator technology instead of just requiring ADS-B In, and even when it does suggest that technology should be required, the bill exempts business jets and small planes in certain parts of the airspace. Homendy said the bill is also weak in other areas, such as limits on when the military will be able to turn those locator systems off and the steps they must take to ensure those systems are working. House leaders defend their bill The leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee declined to respond to Homendy’s criticism Thursday, but Reps. Sam Graves and Rick Larsen have said they believe the ALERT bill they crafted effectively addresses the 50 recommendations that NTSB made at the conclusion of their investigation into the collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter. They defended their bill and pledged to work with the families, the Senate and the industry to develop the best solution as soon as possible. The committee will likely markup the bill within the next few weeks. “From the beginning, we have stressed the importance of getting this right, and we are confident that we will achieve that goal,” Larsen and Graves said. House Speaker Mike Johnson also said he is committed to getting the bill done. Victims’ families say they can’t support the bill as written The NTSB released a side-by-side comparison of its recommendations and the House bill to highlight all the ways the bill falls short of fully addressing the needed changes. Doug Lane, who lost his wife and son in the crash, and many of the other victims’ families said the House bill “is not really a serious attempt to address the NTSB recommendations.” He said the introduction of this bill just a few days before the vote on the ROTOR Act, which the Senate unanimously approved, seemed designed to “scuttle” that bill and send the ADS-B In recommendation into limbo to be considered in a lengthy rulemaking process. Matt Collins, who lost his younger brother Chris in the disaster, said that the bill must require ADS-B In to be acceptable to the families. “As far as the ALERT act — the way it’s written now, I can’t endorse the way its written now. It needs to include ADS-B In,” Collins said. “It’s non-negotiable for us as family members, extremely non-negotiable.” Missed warnings led to the crash The NTSB cited systemic weaknesses and years of ignored warnings as the main causes of the crash, but Homendy has said that if both the plane and the Black Hawk had been equipped with ADS-B In and the systems had been turned on, the collision would have been prevented. The Army’s policy at the time of the crash mandated that its helicopters fly without that system on to conceal their locations, although the helicopter involved in this crash was on a training flight, not a sensitive mission. But Homendy said the House seemed to pick and choose what they wanted to include from the NTSB recommendations. “We were very explicit of what needed to occur,” Homendy said. “When we issue a recommendation, those recommendations are aimed at preventing a tragedy from happening again. And if you’re just going to give us half a loaf, it’s not going to do it. We’re not gonna save lives.” https://wtop.com/virginia/2026/02/ntsb-chair-slams-house-aviation-bill-as-watered-down-after-67-deaths-near-washington/ CALENDAR OF EVENTS . VERTICON 2026 - Atlanta March 9-12 . CANSO Global Safety Conference 2026 - 29 March – 1 April 2026 (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia) . 60th Annual SMU Air Law Symposium - March 31 - April 1, 2026 (Irving, TX) . 2026 ACSF Safety Symposium; April 7-9, 2026; ERAU Daytona Beach, FL . 2026 NBAA Maintenance Conference; May 5-7, 2026; New Orleans, LA . World Aviation Training Summit - 5-7 May 2026 - Orlando . BASS 2026 - 71st Business Aviation Safety Summit - May 5-6, 2026 | Provo, Utah . The African Aviation Safety & Operations Summit - May 19-20 | Johannesburg, South Africa . Safeskies Australia - Australia’s renowned Aviation Safety Conference - Canberra Australia 20 and 21 May 2026 . IATA World Maintenance & Engineering Symposium (23-25 June, Madrid, Spain) . ISASI - 2026 (September/October 2026) - Dubai, UAE . 2026 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) Oct. 20-22, 2026 | Las Vegas, NV Curt Lewis