The agency’s acting director told senators of the new policy after it was revealed that tracking technology had been disabled before a deadly midair collision in January.
All aircraft flying near Ronald Reagan National Airport will now be required to broadcast their positions to air traffic controllers, the acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration told a Senate subcommittee on Thursday.
The policy, which took effect on Thursday, was put in place after it was revealed that technology in an Army helicopter that collided with a passenger jet near the airport in January was turned off at the time of the deadly crash.
Known as the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Out, the technology broadcasts an aircraft’s position, altitude and speed, and it could have allowed air traffic controllers to better track the helicopter’s movements. Military helicopters can turn off the technology during so-called continuity of government missions, which take place during national emergencies and ensure that the whereabouts of top government officials remain untracked.
The policy change was disclosed as the F.A.A. and military officials were pressed by senators to explain how the Army helicopter, which was on a training mission, could have collided with the passenger jet, which was coming in to land on a heavily trafficked route.
“The fact of the matter is, we have to do better,” Chris Rocheleau, the acting F.A.A. administrator, said on Thursday. “We have to identify trends, we have to get smarter on how we use data and when we put corrective actions in place. We must implement them with diligence.”
Mr. Rocheleau said there would be some exemptions to the new policy, though those were not discussed during the hearing. He appeared before Senate panel with Jennifer Homendy, the chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, and Brig. Gen. Matt Braman, the Army’s director of aviation. For about two hours, they answered questions about the ongoing investigation into the January crash, which killed 67 people.