Navy, Secret Service counter-drone technology testing led to faulty cockpit alerts, officials say

Testing of counter-drone technology near Reagan Washington National Airport by the U.S. Secret Service and Navy earlier this month led to numerous flight crews receiving faulty alerts of potentially nearby aircraft, the Federal Aviation Administration and a U.S. senator said on Thursday. Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz said at a hearing that the March 1 faulty alerts that caused some flights to abort landings were due to the government testing using the same spectrum band as the alerting system. That led to interference that impacted at least a dozen flights. Cruz's statement was the first indication of what may have caused the significant number of faulty alerts. Cruz, a Republican from Texas, called the testing inappropriate and "deeply disturbing" after a fatal collision on January 29 between an American Airlines regional jet and an Army helicopter killed 67 people. Acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau said that Cruz's account was correct. "The FAA had previously warned the Navy and the Secret Service against using that specific spectrum band due to interference risks," Cruz said, adding the committee planned to investigate what happened.<br/>