Oversight Committee Seeks Information from DOT on Disturbing Pattern of Aviation and Rail Safety Failures

WASHINGTON – Today,House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Oversight Committee Republicans sent a letter to U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg requesting a briefing, documents, and communications related to DOT’s efforts to investigate and remediate a disturbing pattern of aviation and rail safety failures that have put the safety of Americans across the country at risk. 

“The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is conducting oversight of the Department of Transportation following a series of aviation and rail safety failures. These failures indicate a recent and disturbing pattern of failures at the Department placing at the safety of Americans at risk.  Therefore, we request a briefing, documents, and communications related to the Department’s efforts to investigate and remediate these issues to protect the safety of all Americans,” wrote the Republican lawmakers.

In the DOT’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) Report on the Fiscal Year 2023 Top Management Challenges, the OIG found that “Aviation Safety” and “Surface Transportation Safety” are the leading management challenges. The OIG notes the importance of addressing long unresolved aviation safety issues and the need to overcome oversight challenges to reduce surface transportation failures. Despite the OIG’s consistent warnings, DOT has not addressed these concerns. Data collected by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and DOT Federal Railroad Administration indicates that there were 1,730 runway incursions in 2022 and approximately 2,000 rail incidents reported nationwide, including approximately 1,310 derailments and 146 collisions.

“Despite these incidents, the Office of the Secretary of Transportation (OST) has more than 86 new unresolved recommendations since President Biden took office,” the Republican lawmakers continued. “OMB requires that OIG recommendations be ‘resolved’ within six months. These recommendations include ways to improve ‘safety, efficiency, and economy’ in several DOT programs including aviation and rail safety, which raises serious concerns that had the OST acted on these numerous recommendations, recent failures might have been prevented. It appears from the OIG’s catalogue of long overdue and unresolved recommendations that DOT’s leadership is not prioritizing Americans’ safety on air, land, and sea. These safety failures have eroded the public’s confidence in air and rail safety and necessitates thorough investigation.”

Read the letter to DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg here.