Senate Committee Threatens to Subpoena Army If It Doesn’t Release Helicopter Safety Memo

‘If there is another accident ... because the Army refused to change its policy ... those deaths will be on the Army’s hands,’ Sen. Ted Cruz says.

Chairman Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) delivers an opening statement as President and CEO of Boeing Kelly Ortberg prepares to testify before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington on April 2, 2025. Win McNamee/Getty Images

The Senate Commerce Committee may subpoena the Army for a report that explains why it repeatedly failed to utilize a safety system called ADS-B on helicopter flights near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, its chair, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), said on April 2.

When an Army Black Hawk helicopter on a routine training mission collided midair with an American Airlines regional jet descending for a landing on Jan. 29, killing 67 people, it did not have that system operating.