WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters) - The chair of the

National Transportation Safety Board will tell the Senate

Commerce Committee on Wednesday at a hearing the agency needs

more funding, and warn cuts could put aviation probes at risk.

NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy will tell the committee in

written testimony seen by Reuters that funding levels in a

Senate bill "would require us to reduce staffing levels and

would degrade our mission readiness for critical safety

investigations" including a February 2023 Norfolk Southern ( NSC )

train derailment in Ohio and the Alaska Airlines

Boeing 737 MAX 9 probe.

"It is critical for the agency to have additional resources

to respond to events," Homendy's testimony says.