The Alert Act, an aviation safety bill prompted by the midair collision near Washington last year that killed 67 people, faces a vote in the House of Representatives on Tuesday evening. The legislation aims to address lessons from the crash, but victims’ families and key senators argue it requires further strengthening.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has said the amended bill now addresses its recommendation to require aircraft flying near busy airports to be equipped with systems that provide precise location data on nearby aircraft. NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy stated such technology would have prevented the collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River on 29 January 2025.
Victims’ families have called for strict timelines to ensure reforms are completed, while two House committees have unanimously advanced the bill. Sponsored by Republican Sam Graves and Democrat Rick Larens, the Alert Act needs a two-thirds majority to proceed to the Senate, where separate legislation—the ROTOR Act—previously fell one vote short.
The bill requires aircraft to carry Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast In (ADS-B In) systems, which receive location data from other aircraft. The NTSB found that if both the jet and helicopter had been equipped with active ADS-B In, the collision would have been averted. At the time, Army policy mandated helicopters fly without the system to conceal their locations, though the Black Hawk was on a training flight.
A key factor in the crash was the poor design of a helicopter route near Reagan National Airport, which failed to ensure sufficient separation from planes landing on the secondary runway. The NTSB also cited systemic weaknesses and years of ignored warnings about helicopter traffic dangers.
