After Crash FAA Change Requires All Aircraft at Reagan to Broadcast Positions

I think the most crucial takeaway for me is that NTSB finding of how often this was almost happening for over a decade. That's guilt by inaction at that point. I understand that some flights need the security of being un-broadcasted, but I struggle to think they happen so often. It feels like the FAA is really saying that they're raising the bar for being able to turn off the ADS-B which I agree with completely. Too bad it's 10+ years too late.

All aircraft broadcast positions (ADS-B) in the Washington Tri-Area, but military aircraft get an exemption. It's crazytown to me that they are exempt in some of the busiest airspace in the country.

If they need to do this for some sort of operation or VIP movement, then a much larger area of airspace needs to be cleared around them rather than mixing flights that don't broadcast position.

And the idea FAA was hiding anything from Congress is silly. NTSB is not submitting its reports of near misses to the FAA under the table. They're as public as any other report. FAA not crowing about every one of these near misses has everything to do with being chronically underfunded, being given a hard time by the military whenever their flights are curtailed, while Congresscritters will complain to FAA if DCA flights are constrained because they don't want to hoof it all the way out to IAD.