Army’s head of aviation, who faced questions over deadly midair collision, has new role
Jul 22, 2025, 2:48 PM
FILE - Brig. Gen. Matthew Braman, director of Army Aviation, center, answers questions, joined from left by Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, and Chris Rocheleau, acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, as the Senate Transportation Subcommittee holds a hearing to examine the preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board on the Jan. 29, 2025, midair collision of an Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet, on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� The U.S. Army鈥檚 head of aviation has changed jobs to become chief of the branch’s enterprise marketing office, a move that comes before the National Transportation Safety Board holds hearings next week on January’s midair collision between an Army helicopter and a commercial jet that killed 67 people.
Brig. Gen. Matthew Braman became chief of the Army Enterprise Marketing Office this month to focus on advertising and boosting recruitment, according to his new bio on an Army website. An Army spokesperson said the plan to move Braman was in place last fall and had nothing to do with the tragedy.
The NTSB will hold three days of hearings, starting next Wednesday, on the crash near Reagan Washington National Airport.
Braman was among those who faced criticism from some in Congress following the collision over the Potomac River, which was the nation鈥檚 deadliest plane crash since November 2001.
Braman acknowledged during a hearing in March that military helicopters were still flying over the nation鈥檚 capital with a key system broadcasting their locations turned off during most missions because it deemed them sensitive.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz called it 鈥渟hocking and deeply unacceptable鈥� after earlier complaining that the general wasn’t answering his questions.
Braman repeatedly evaded Cruz鈥檚 questions during the hearing about whether he would provide a copy of a memo laying out the policy for when Army helicopters fly with their locators turned off. Braman said he wasn鈥檛 sure he could provide the memo because it was part of the investigation, but the head of the NTSB assured him that would be okay.
Former NTSB and FAA crash investigator Jeff Guzzetti, who has followed the crash investigation and watched the hearing, welcomed the news that Braman is no longer leading the Army’s aviation unit.
鈥淧ersonally I think that鈥檚 a good thing. That guy was just not playing ball in my view,鈥� Guzzetti said. 鈥淗e was too protective and defensive and evasive and secretive. And that鈥檚 not what you need in this type of situation.鈥�
Cruz, the Republican chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, said in April that troubling missteps since the crash 鈥渦nderscore the precarious situation in the nation鈥檚 airspace.鈥�
Expressing frustration with the Army鈥檚 refusal to turn over a memo detailing its flight rules, Cruz said during the hearing that any deaths resulting from another collision near Reagan Airport 鈥渨ill be on the Army鈥檚 hands.鈥� He threatened the Army with a subpoena if it did not give the committee a copy of its memo.
The fact that system wasn鈥檛 activated in the Black Hawk that collided with the passenger jet is a key concern investigators have highlighted. With the location system turned off, the tower had to rely on radar for updates on the helicopter鈥檚 position that only came once every four seconds instead of every second before the crash.
鈥淚t begs the question, what doesn鈥檛 the Army want Congress or the American people to know about why it was flying partially blind to the other aircraft and to the air traffic controllers near DCA?鈥� Cruz said, using the airport code for Reagan. 鈥淭his is not acceptable.鈥�
