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Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-06) today sent a letter to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Bryan Bedford requesting answers about serious safety concerns surrounding the use of the Instrument Landing System Yankee (ILS‑Y) approach at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW). This follows a letter sent by Dingell on December 5, 2024, regarding the same issue, which was unanswered. This week, Dingell’s office reviewed an internal FAA memo outlining controller instructions for this approach, which raises additional safety questions and concerns.

“As you know, the ILS‑Y procedure was discontinued in 2015 because of its inherent risks, specifically the well‑documented signal interference caused when taxiing aircraft cross critical areas. These safety issues remain unresolved, as no new information has been presented to demonstrate that the procedure is safe,” Dingell writes. “There is no scenario on Runway 22R at DTW in which aircraft can avoid crossing these zones. When they do cross through the critical zone, the localizer signal is disrupted, leaving pilots on final approach with unreliable guidance at the moment when precision is most critical.

“Instead of implementing safer alternatives, FAA has returned to a procedure that was deemed unsafe more than a decade ago. This decision is even more concerning given the availability of modern approaches, which are widely used nationwide and provide safer, more resilient guidance,” Dingell continues. “The refusal by local tower leadership to employ these alternatives unnecessarily puts both pilots and passengers at risk.”

Since Dingell sent the first letter in December, several developments have heightened safety concerns, including: 

• The tragic January 29, 2025, mid‑air collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) that killed 67 people, where an FAA controller was reportedly performing two critical functions simultaneously.
• A growing pattern of near mid‑air collisions nationwide, with independent reviews documenting an increase in close‑call incidents at major airports, driven by controller staffing shortages, runway congestion, and operational strain.
• An internal DTW memo directing that local tower positions be combined during peak arrival periods, in direct conflict with FAA staffing guidance.

“DTW has a strong track record as one of the nation’s top-performing airports, consistently recognized with awards for its operations under a strong airport authority,” Dingell concludes.“As a critical hub for Michigan, the Midwest, and our national aviation network, DTW plays an essential role in keeping passengers and commerce moving safely and efficiently. That is why it is so important that flaws in FAA procedures and gaps in federal oversight are addressed quickly, so that the dedicated men and women working on the frontlines at DTW and the millions of travelers who rely on a safe, resilient air traffic control system are not put at risk.”

Specifically, Dingell requested urgent answers to the following questions: 

1. Please confirm whether the ILS-Y approach is currently in use at DTW, and if so, when was it reinstated and under what conditions? 
2. What is FAA’s rationale for resuming the use of the ILS‑Y approach at DTW despite longstanding safety concerns and the discontinuation of weather‑related mitigations previously deemed essential?
3. What steps is FAA taking to address the known signal interference caused by the offset localizer antenna’s placement, particularly during inclement weather or when smaller aircraft taxi through the critical area?
4. What alternative configurations or modern systems, such as GPS approaches or relocating the offset localizer, are being actively evaluated and why have these alternatives not been prioritized?
5. How does the FAA justify the current approach given the OSC’s conclusion that the agency’s findings on this matter lack adequate documentation?
6. What independent, third‑party review will be undertaken immediately to assess the safety of the ILS‑Y approach and determine whether it should be allowed to continue?

View the full text of the letter here.