DOT’s Inspector General Launches Audit of FAA After D.C. Collision

Investigation will focus on FAA’s oversight of Washington National Airport.

Zach Vasile

Saturday, August 09, 2025 at 08:00 AM ET

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Zach Vasile

The air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (KDCA). [Shutterstock/TJ Brown]

Key Takeaways:

The U.S. Transportation Department's inspector general has launched an audit of the FAA's oversight of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (KDCA) following a midair collision that killed 67 people.
Requested by Congressional leadership, the audit will examine the FAA's airspace design, management, and flight routes around DCA, as well as an exemption allowing government aircraft to operate without active ADS-B Out technology.
This probe follows a public NTSB hearing on the collision, where the NTSB criticized the FAA for failing to provide information and identified a "disconnect" between air traffic controllers and FAA leadership regarding systemic problems.

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The U.S. Transportation Department’s inspector general has launched an audit of the FAA’s oversight of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (KDCA) in connection with a midair collision over Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people.

In a statement released Friday, the inspector general’s office said the audit was requested by the leadership of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, the Senate Homeland Security Committee, and additional senators and members of Congress.