Rep. Troy Nehls, aviation subcommittee chair, is monitoring the situation after an American Airlines plane collided with a military helicopter over the Potomac River. (Getty Images)
"We have to find out the reason for the crash and then come up with, you know, recommendations to make sure it doesn’t happen again," he said. "We don’t need to be sitting on this. I don’t want to hear, ‘It’s going to take 18 months.’ I don’t want to hear that."
And it appears federal investigators are on that same page.
NTSB officials said they hope to have a preliminary report out in about 30 days.
"I think that would be fair," Nehls said. "But that shouldn't stop Congress looking into this and doing what we can to help. I think President Trump… expects it, and he has a right to expect it from us, to make sure that we keep our aviation industry the standard for the world."
And while he is hoping for quick results, Nehls emphatically cautioned against any early speculation about who or what is to blame for the tragedy.
RECOVERY EFFORTS UNDERWAY AFTER AMERICAN AIRLINES JET, MILITARY HELICOPTER COLLIDE MIDAIR NEAR DC
Crews retrieve wreckage of American Airlines Flight 5342 in the Potomac River. (Leigh Green for Fox News Digital)
Nehls spoke with Fox News Digital the day after a Black Hawk helicopter carrying three service members crashed into a passenger plane heading from Wichita, Kansas, which was moments away from landing at Reagan National Airport.
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Both aircraft were seen plummeting into the Potomac River between Washington and neighboring Arlington, Virginia, where the airport is located.
U.S. officials have said there are no survivors, and recovery efforts are still underway.
Fox News Digital reached out to the House Transportation Committee for comment.
American Airlines has said 60 passengers and four crew members were aboard the plane, and the airline encouraged any loved ones looking for information to call the numbers on its site.
Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/were-gold-standard-gop-lawmaker-calls-congressional-hearing-over-dc-plane-crash