WASHINGTON — In an unusually harsh rebuke, the nation's top safety investigator voiced concerns about a provision in the defense policy bill before Congress on Wednesday, warning that it would undermine aviation safety improvements made after a deadly mid-air collision in January.

"It's a safety whitewash," National Safety Transportation Board chair Jennifer Homendy told reporters. "If it sounds like I'm mad, I am mad. This is shameful."

Homendy said the NTSB "vehemently" opposes a section in the massive National Defense Authorization Act that would roll back safety improvements that were recommended by the agency after the collision of a military Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, killing 67 people.

After the

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