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The U.S. House approved the Alert Act on April 14, sending a new aviation-safety package toward the Senate after a January 29, 2025 collision near Washington killed 67 people. The bill is aimed at strengthening how pilots learn about nearby aircraft around busy airports, including by requiring systems that can receive data on other planes’ locations. Its approval followed changes that the National Transportation Safety Board said brought the measure closer to what the board recommended after investigating the crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board, which had previously criticized an earlier version of the proposal, said the Alert Act—after being amended—now addresses the board’s recommendation for aircraft flying around busy airports to have locator systems that provide more precise location information to pilots. NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said such a system would have helped prevent the crash between an American Airlines jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter, according to the NTSB’s account of what the technology could have done.
The collision occurred when the two aircraft plunged into the icy Potomac River after they collided, and it killed everyone aboard the American Airlines jet and the helicopter. Investigators said the crash involved problems with how helicopter routes and separation were handled near a Reagan National Airport runway, including that a helicopter approach-path route did not ensure enough separation between helicopters and planes landing and that the route was not reviewed regularly. The NTSB also cited systemic weaknesses and warnings that it said had been ignored for years.
The House approved the Alert Act under rules that did not allow amendments, with two key House committees having advanced it unanimously earlier in the process. The bill sponsors said it cleared the threshold needed to reach the Senate, and it received a vote of 396-10, according to the account provided with the measure’s House passage. Republican Rep. Sam Graves of Missouri and Democratic Rep. Rick Larsen of Washington sponsored the legislation.
Senators and families of the victims, however, said they want further changes before any final passage. Families’ group representatives said the January 29, 2025 crash “made clear what is at stake,” and said the public should not have to wait longer than necessary for protections to be in place, while calling for strict timelines to guarantee reforms are completed. They also raised concerns about whether the House bill would allow military flights to continue without broadcasting their locations on routine training flights, not only on sensitive missions.
Homendy had sharply criticized the original version of the bill earlier this year, characterizing it as “watered down,” and she said the revised version would require the Federal Aviation Administration, the Transportation Department and the military to take actions. In the NTSB’s view, if both aircraft had been equipped with Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast In systems—and if the systems had been turned on—the collision would have been prevented. The NTSB said the Army’s policy at the time required helicopters to fly without that system to conceal their locations, including on a training flight, not a sensitive mission.
The Alert Act would require planes to have ADS-B In systems to receive data about other aircraft’s locations, while noting that many planes already broadcast their locations using ADS-B Out. The bill would also require the next generation of collision-avoidance systems to be installed alongside ADS-B In so pilots can receive alerts about nearby traffic. The Air Line Pilots Association expressed concerns that the approach could delay installation of the required locator systems because the new collision-avoidance system has not yet been fully certified, according to the report.
Some lawmakers signaled they are still not satisfied with the House version. Republican Sen. Ted Cruz said in a post on X that the Alert Act would not deliver the safety measures necessary to prevent another midair collision because it lacks critical improvements the aviation system needs, even as the bill advanced to the Senate. Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell also said the Alert Act still needs improvement.
Democratic Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, whose Virginia district lost constituents in the crash, said the legislation should address all 50 recommendations the NTSB made in its final report and that it mattered to get the bill right. In Congress, families including Tim and Sheri Lilley, whose son was the copilot of the airliner, said legislation should reflect current operating risks and ensure pilots have the information and technology needed to identify developing situations earlier.
As the bill heads to the Senate, the central dispute is whether the Alert Act will deliver reforms quickly enough and with adequate oversight, particularly around exemptions that could allow some military flights to operate without locator systems turned on. The House’s approval puts lawmakers in the next phase of negotiations, where families and Senate members are already pressing for stronger timelines and tighter standards before any changes become law.