US: The FAA informs Congress that the aviation system is under stress as the modernization effort becomes more urgent

US: Even as a massive modernization effort picks up speed in the wake of last year’s deadly mid-air collision near Washington, senior US lawmakers and aviation officials said that America’s aviation system is operating at an unprecedented intensity, strained by growing traffic, a lack of workers, and aging infrastructure.

During a comprehensive oversight hearing on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), House aviation subcommittee chairman Troy Nehls said, “The state of American aviation, it’s busy.” But being busy isn’t always a negative thing. “In this case, it’s a good thing,” he said, citing rising demand as well as a drive for safety and technological changes.

In his first testimony since taking office, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said that the agency is addressing safety as “a journey rather than a destination” while expediting the modernization of air traffic control in response to legislative directives and the administration of President Donald Trump.

The crucial hearing took place in the context of the January 29 mid-air accident at Reagan National Airport, which resulted in the deaths of 67 people.

At the session, Nehls assured the relatives of the victims that his “commitment to you remains steadfast” and promised ongoing congressional scrutiny to prevent a repetition of the tragedy.

The FAA’s job is “to protect pilots, flight attendants, and the traveling public by objectively analyzing safety data to identify risk and urgently act on the data to mitigate that risk,” according to Bedford, who also said the tragedy served as a “sobering reminder why the FAA exists.”

According to him, the FAA acted quickly following the incident, requiring aircraft to broadcast ADS-B Out signals with few exceptions, permanently limiting non-essential helicopter operations in the capital area, closing some helicopter routes, and doing away with visual separation approaches.

In close collaboration with the National Transportation Safety Board, Bedford said, “These investigations reinforce the importance of constant vigilance and a willingness to reexamine our processes, our assumptions, and our oversight.”

The state of the country’s air traffic control system has been the subject of considerable criticism from lawmakers of both parties. The system is “outdated and unsustainable,” according to full committee chairman Sam Graves, who also said that modernization is necessary “for the benefit and safety of all users of the National Airspace System.”

$12.5 billion has been granted by Congress for modernizing air traffic control, which includes replacing radar and improving telecommunications infrastructure. According to Graves, the money represents a “historic investment” that enables the FAA to fix long-standing weaknesses and replace vital equipment.

Bedford said senators that the agency has already allocated nearly $6 billion of that money, mostly for radar and telecommunications equipment that would be installed over the course of the next two and a half years. According to him, the FAA has switched over one-third of its copper infrastructure to fiber and “compressed radar and telecom modernization into a three-year timeline.”

The session was also dominated by staffing difficulties, especially in light of the recent government shutdown. According to Bedford, the shutdown put “extraordinary strain” on safety workers and air traffic controllers who continued to work unpaid throughout the 43-day budget delay.

“The FAA was already having trouble finding qualified controllers long before the shutdown,” he said, adding that the interruption made matters worse and resulted in the temporary suspension of flights at 40 busy airports.

Although Bedford acknowledged ongoing retention problems, the FAA recruited over 2,000 new controller trainees this year and is still on schedule to employ 8,900 by 2028.

The FAA’s choice of Peraton as the lead integrator for the modernization project was questioned by a number of politicians. Bedford supported the decision by claiming that the business had expertise moving aging systems to digital and cloud-based architectures, something the FAA does not have in-house.

Lawmakers frequently cautioned against undoing safety precautions implemented after the Washington tragedy throughout the session. “There is no turning back,” he Bedford firmly, adding that the mitigations put in place after January 29 “will remain closed as long as I’m the administrator.”

The first mass-casualty commercial aircraft accident in the United States in over 16 years occurred on January 29, when American Airlines Flight 5342 collided with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter. Final results from the NTSB probe are anticipated in the next months.