Washington — The House on Tuesday approved its version of an aviation safety package, voting 396-10 to pass the ALERT Act in response to a deadly midair collision near Reagan National Airport. The January 2025 crash, involving an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army Black Hawk, killed all 67 people aboard the two aircraft and prompted lawmakers to push for new collision-prevention rules.
The ALERT Act would require aircraft operating near busy airports to carry receivers that can obtain data about nearby traffic. Many commercial and general aviation aircraft already broadcast their position with ADS-B Out. The bill emphasizes ADS-B In, the receivers that let pilots and systems see other aircraft transmitting their locations, and lawmakers and investigators say such capability could have prevented Flight 5342s crash.
The bipartisan measure also sets a deadline, largely by 2031, for most military aircraft to install collision-avoidance technologies, while carving out exemptions for fighters, bombers, drones and certain special-mission planes. It includes changes aimed at better helicopter routing and separation rules — issues the National Transportation Safety Board identified as probable contributors to the 2025 collision — and calls for improvements to air traffic control training and operational procedures.
House Republican leaders fast-tracked the bill, advancing it under rules that required two-thirds support. The move comes months after the House rejected a different, Senate-originated proposal that had drawn criticism from victims families. A separate Senate effort, the ROTOR Act, previously had Senate backing but later failed by one vote in February after the Pentagon reversed its support; the Pentagon had initially endorsed the measure in December.
The NTSB had warned that the ALERT Act as originally written did not fully address its roughly 50 recommendations arising from the crash, including a universal requirement for equipment that receives more precise positional data. House amendments prompted the NTSB to say the revised bill would force the Departments of Transportation and Defense and the FAA to take actions that, when completed, would address those recommendations.
Grieving families remain unconvinced. They said Tuesday the collision-prevention systems the bill relies on are not yet widely available, could take years to deploy, and may invite broad waiver requests or delays in enforcement. Sen. Ted Cruz, who co-leads the Senate Transportation Committee with Sen. Maria Cantwell, argued the earlier ROTOR Act was superior and criticized the ALERT Act for lacking clear implementation mandates, saying Congress should not advance a law that leaves operators able to fly without sufficient situational awareness in congested airspace.