Cantwell Questions NTSB Nominee Over FAA Failure to Implement Safety Recommendations, Including ADS-B In Technology

WASHINGTON, D.C. - During the nomination hearing of Michael Graham to serve on the National Traffic Safety Board (NTSB), U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, continued her criticism of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) safety oversight, pointing to the agency's failure to act on numerous warnings at Washington National Airport (DCA) and its long delays in implementing NTSB safety recommendations, including ADS-B In and Out technology.

"Mr. Graham, you have been renominated to a five-year term of the NTSB, which plays a vital role in investigating root causes of some of the most devastating transportation accidents in our country and identifying key areas of improvement," Sen. Cantwell said. "The NTSB is critically important in investigating the tragic mid-air collision in DCA airspace that killed 67 people in January - but this wasn't an isolated incident. The NTSB found over 15,000 near miss incidents between commercial aircraft and helicopters in the three years leading up to the crash, and controllers warned that the FAA helicopter routes were dangerous. But that information was dismissed by the agency, the FAA. Meanwhile, the Army has been operating 100 percent of its missions with ADS-B Out not transmitting. These weren't unknown risks. They were ignored warnings that cost lives."

In 2008, the NTSB recommended the FAA mandate ADS-B In, not just ADS-B Out, for aircraft operating in certain areas of controlled airspace. NTSB said at the time that equipping "aircraft with ADS-B In capability will provide an immediate and substantial contribution to safety, especially during operations in and around airports."

Sen. Cantwell questioned Graham about the long delay in implementation of ADS-B In and Out technology, which the nominee agreed poses a high safety risk:

Sen. Cantwell: "To go back to this ADS-B In and Out issue. Mr. Graham, you're aware that, as you mentioned, the time period that this recommendation for mandating [ADS-B In] was made a long time ago. So the point is, you support that recommendation? Correct?"

Graham: "Absolutely I do."

Sen. Cantwell: "Okay. So the issue is, why wasn't it adopted?...And my guess is that you would say that this is one of the highest risks, if it's not implemented."

Graham: "I believe it's one of the higher risks, yes."

Sen. Cantwell: "Okay, so the point is, what else do you think that NTSB can do? This is a gap, right? This is a gap between a safety organization that has to spend all its time on the details and a regulatory agency that seems to, [in the] last decade plus, try to ignore those recommendations. What else can we do to further get this implementation as a priority? What more can NTSB do?"

Graham: "I think at this point we can just -- all we can do. It reminds me of positive train control. We advocated for that for 50 years. This is 20 some years into this now, with ADS-B and technology. All we can do from the NTSB is continue to advocate for our recommendations and hope the regulator or this body does something and ask for the regulator to go ahead and make it regulatory in this case."

Sen. Cantwell: "Well, the problem is our regulator hasn't been doing it. That's the big problem…I get it. We're trying to change a big bureaucracy here, for sure, but at the same time…Senator Cruz and I…we want it implemented. We're like, this is way too long. We want it implemented now. So I get it, but at the same time, I need a more aggressive NTSB on calling out the lack of implementation by the FAA. We just do. We just do. And I'm sorry that that's the case. I wish we had a more aggressive FAA, but apparently we have people there that are right now rewriting the rules, trying to be more 'light touch' again."

Senator Cantwell has been a leader in aviation safety and the investigation of the January 29^th collision through her role on the Commerce Committee, including calling for permanent helicopter restrictions near DCA. On March 7, Sen. Cantwell sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth requesting that the Department of Defense clarify how often and why it operates aircraft in the National Capital Region without Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) Out transmitting. On June 5, 2025, Senator Cantwell introduced the Safe Operation of Shared Airspace Act of 2025, the first comprehensive aviation safety legislation in response to the DCA collision.

Senator Cantwell has a long history on aviation safety. Most recently, under her leadership as Chair of the Committee, the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2024 passed the Senate and House with overwhelming bipartisan support and was signed into law in May 2024. Boosting FAA's safety-critical staff - including more air traffic controllers - and implementing key NTSB recommendations to strengthen safety in commercial aviation were top priorities of the 2024 FAA Reauthorization. In 2020, Sen. Cantwell's landmark Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act strengthened the FAA's oversight of aircraft manufacturers, mandated safety management systems for aircraft manufacturers, and required the FAA to convene an independent expert panel to review the safety processes and culture of Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) holders like Boeing.

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