House blocks aviation safety bill amid concern it failed to address causes of fatal D.C. crash

More than a year after a midair collision at Washington’s Reagan National Airport killed 67 people, House lawmakers Tuesday narrowly blocked a Senate-passed safety aviation bill they say fell short of fixing the causes of the deadly crash.

Lawmakers in both chambers must now work out an agreement on broader legislation that addresses the 50 safety recommendations approved earlier this month by the National Transportation Safety Board following its investigation into the crash. 

In a rebuke of Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, GOP lawmakers and one Democrat blocked the Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform (ROTOR) Act, which would have required all planes traveling in busy airspace to have special anti-collision equipment installed in the cockpit. 

The bill passed the Senate unanimously in December and was moved to the House floor for a Tuesday vote by Mr. Johnson, Louisiana Republican. 

But top Republicans and one top Democrat led a revolt against the bill. 

The bill failed under special rules that required two-thirds support for passage. A majority of those voting supported the bill, but one Democrat and 132 Republicans voted against it, leaving it just a few votes short of the two-thirds threshold.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Sam Graves, Missouri Republican, and House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, Alabama Republican, spoke in opposition to the ROTOR Act on Monday. Rep. Rick Larsen, the top Democrat on the Transportation Committee, announced he would also vote against it. 

The lawmakers want the House to consider an aviation safety bill they authored that aligns with the post-crash NTSB safety recommendations. 

Their bill, the Airspace Location and Enhanced Risk Transparency Act, or ALERT Act, would go beyond the ROTOR Act and implement a much broader set of airline and Federal Aviation Administration changes. Those steps include a review of Reagan National’s notoriously congested arrival schedule for commercial jets, and changes addressing air traffic controller management and training issues, among others. 

Minutes before the collision last year, the air traffic controller managing flights reported to a supervisor that he was “overwhelmed” as he juggled oversight of seven jets and five helicopters. 

Mr. Graves said he wants the House and Senate to work on a new bill together that addresses the broader aviation safety concerns and makes changes to the anti-collision technology requirements that were part of the ROTOR Act.

“This is not a vote against safety. I continue to pray for the victims and their families, and I understand that they are motivated to prevent anyone else from having to experience what they are going through,” Mr. Graves said. “I simply want to get this right, and I believe that we can absolutely do that by allowing the House and Senate to work together to ensure a tragedy like this never happens again.”

On Monday, the Pentagon released a statement opposing the ROTOR Act, which would require military aircraft to use the anti-collision technology, called ADS-B In. 

The bill, Pentagon officials said, “would create significant unresolved budgetary burdens and operations security risks affecting national defense activities.”

Mr. Rogers said the bill is written in a way that gives the FAA the final say on which military aircraft must be equipped with ADS-B In and when it must be turned on. “ADS-B systems transmit information on the location, speed and direction of aircraft over unencrypted, open channels and websites….for all the world to see,” Mr. Rogers said.

But ROTOR Act proponents say Pentagon officials are wrong and the bill does not jeopardize national security. Instead, they said, the ALERT Act loosens restrictions on military aircraft in a way that makes commercial airspace more prone to midair collisions.

The NTSB report pointed to many causes behind the crash, but it has largely been blamed on the military.

The Jan. 29, 2025, midair collision at Reagan occurred when an Army Black Hawk helicopter on a training flight flew directly into the side of American Airlines flight 5342 as it was on final approach to Reagan. The helicopter struck the plane at an altitude that was 78 feet higher than the chopper was authorized to fly.

Proponents of the ROTOR Act say if ADS-B In had been installed in the two aircraft, they would have been alerted to the impending collision 60 seconds ahead of time, which could have prevented the accident.

Among those in favor of the bill are family members of Flight 5342 and NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy. Family members were on Capitol Hill to witness the passage of the bill, only to see it blocked. 

The full NTSB board has not weighed in on the ROTOR Act. 

In a statement, the Airline Pilots Association, which backed the ROTOR Act, said even though the measure was blocked in the House, “the strong bipartisan majority who voted in favor of it…sent an unmistakable message that Congress knows what needs to be done.”

The ALERT Act, like the ROTOR Act, includes the ADS-B In requirements, but with more flexible implementation and carveouts for some aircraft and military assets. 

Mr. Graves said he plans to begin advancing the ALERT Act through his committee as soon as next week.