House passes aviation safety bill in response to deadly midair collision near D.C.
Earlier this year, the House narrowly defeated a Senate bill on the issue, angering victims' families.
Washington — The House on Tuesday passed its version of an aviation safety bill, months after it rejected separate legislation that cleared the Senate with unanimous support and angered families of the victims of a deadly midair crash near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
In a 396 to 10 vote, the House approved the ALERT Act, which came in response to the January 2025 collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army Black Hawk that killed all 67 people aboard both aircraft.
The ALERT Act would require all aircraft, including military planes, that fly near busy airports to install safety instruments that can receive data about the locations of other aircraft in the vicinity. Most planes already have technology that broadcasts their locations, called ADS-B Out, but are not equipped with collision-avoidance technology referred to as ADS-B In.
If American Airlines 5342 was equipped with ADS-B In, it could have prevented the fatal accident, according to the National Transportation Safety Board and victims' families. The bipartisan bill would also require military aircraft to install collision-prevention technologies by 2031, with exceptions for fighters, bombers, drones and other special mission aircraft.
House GOP leaders fast-tracked the bill, which required support from two-thirds of members for passage. The Senate version, known as the ROTOR Act, failed by one vote in February after the Pentagon reversed its support for the legislation.
The Pentagon originally endorsed the ROTOR Act in December after the Senate passed the legislation. But just days before the House took it up, the department said its enactment "would create significant unresolved budgetary burdens and operational security risks affecting national defense activities."