An aviation safety bill, known as the Alert Act, is set for a vote in the House of Representatives on Tuesday evening. This legislation is a direct response to the tragic midair collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C., which resulted in the deaths of all 67 individuals aboard. While the bill has garnered support from key industry groups and has been amended to address specific recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), critics, including senators and victims’ families, believe it requires further strengthening.
The NTSB has long advocated for the implementation of advanced locator systems for aircraft operating around busy airports—technology that could significantly enhance pilots’ situational awareness. Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy emphasized that these systems, which have been recommended since 2008, would likely have prevented the devastating collision that occurred on January 29, 2025. The revised Alert Act now mandates that all aircraft in these critical airspaces be equipped with such systems.
The bill has passed through two key House committees without opposition and is now poised for a full House vote. However, the rules governing this vote will not permit any amendments, which has raised concerns among victims’ families who advocate for strict timelines to ensure timely implementation of the proposed reforms.
With bipartisan sponsorship from Republican Sam Graves and Democrat Rick Larens, the Alert Act requires a two-thirds majority in the House to move forward to the Senate. Notably, a related bill in the Senate, the ROTOR Act, was narrowly defeated in the House, highlighting the contentious nature of aviation safety legislation. Senators Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell have also expressed the need for improvements to the Alert Act before it can gain their support.
Earlier critiques from the NTSB described the original version of the Alert Act as insufficient, labeling it a “watered down” measure that would fail to prevent future tragedies. However, following revisions, the NTSB has acknowledged that the updated bill now addresses many of the safety deficiencies identified in their investigations.
The NTSB’s investigation into the January 2025 collision revealed systemic issues and years of overlooked warnings regarding helicopter traffic safety. The crash, the deadliest air disaster on U.S. soil since 2001, claimed the lives of everyone on board the American Airlines flight, including 28 members of the figure skating community.
The NTSB reported that the helicopter route near Reagan National Airport was inadequately designed, failing to provide sufficient separation between landing aircraft and helicopters. The board criticized the reliance on pilots to visually avoid other aircraft, a strategy that proved fatal in this incident.
Under the new provisions, the Alert Act mandates that aircraft be equipped with Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast In (ADS-B In) systems. This technology can receive real-time data about the location of other aircraft, which proponents argue could have provided earlier warnings of the impending collision. Currently, many aircraft are already equipped with ADS-B Out systems that broadcast their locations.
The NTSB has concluded that if both the American Airlines jet and the Army helicopter had been fitted with operational ADS-B In systems, the tragic accident could have been averted. At the time of the crash, Army policy required helicopters to fly without this system activated for operational security reasons, despite the fact that the helicopter involved was on a training mission.
