House Passes Alert Act 396-10 After Deadly DC Midair Crash

The U.S. House approved sweeping aviation safety legislation Tuesday in a 396-10 vote, responding to the deadliest plane crash on American soil since 2001. But the bill's path forward in the Senate is already in jeopardy, and families of the 67 victims say Congress still hasn't done enough.

The Alert Act, sponsored by Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), cleared the House floor under rules barring any amendments after two key committees advanced it unanimously last month. The legislation would require aircraft operating near busy airports to install Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast In systems — technology that lets pilots receive precise real-time data on the locations of other aircraft in their vicinity. Most commercial planes already carry the complementary ADS-B Out systems that broadcast their own locations, but the inbound receiving technology has lagged.

The bill's passage matters directly to Treasure Coast residents who regularly fly in and out of Florida's congested airspace, including through Miami International, Orlando International and Palm Beach International — all corridors where commercial jets and military and private aircraft routinely share tight flight paths. St. Lucie County's Treasure Coast International Airport and Martin County's Witham Field also operate in regional airspace where the technology gap the Alert Act addresses is a live concern, officials said.

The legislation was prompted by the Jan. 29, 2025, collision of an American Airlines jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport, which killed all 67 people aboard both aircraft. The National Transportation Safety Board concluded the crash was preventable, citing a helicopter route that provided inadequate separation from landing planes, overreliance on visual avoidance by air traffic controllers, and — critically — an Army policy that required helicopters to fly with their ADS-B locator systems switched off, even on routine training missions.

"January 29, 2025 made clear what is at stake," the main families advocacy group said Tuesday. "The 67 lives lost that day should be honored with an improved system that prevents this from happening again."

The NTSB, which had previously criticized an earlier version of the bill as "watered down," said the revised Alert Act now addresses the board's core recommendations. But NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy has been explicit: had both aircraft been equipped with functioning ADS-B In systems on the day of the crash, the collision would not have occurred.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, warned House colleagues ahead of the vote that the bill "lacks the critical improvements our aviation system needs." Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) has echoed those concerns. A separate Senate-crafted measure, the ROTOR Act, failed in the House by one vote.

Families and some lawmakers remain concerned the House bill contains insufficient oversight of military exemptions that allow aircraft to fly without broadcasting their locations — the same policy loophole implicated in the Potomac crash. The Air Line Pilots Association also raised concerns that tying ADS-B In installation to a next-generation collision avoidance system not yet fully certified could delay the safety upgrades rather than accelerate them.

The bill now moves to the Senate, where Cruz and Cantwell are expected to push for a stronger compromise measure. No Senate vote date has been set.

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