The House failed to approve a bill Tuesday that was crafted after last year鈥檚 near Washington, D.C., to require all aircraft flying around busy airports to have key locator systems to prevent such crashes. The collision of an airliner and an Army helicopter killed 67 people in January 2025.
The National Transportation Safety Board has been recommending such Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast systems to be installed since 2008. The bill that already passed the Senate would have required aircraft to be equipped with a system that can receive data about the locations of other aircraft. The complementary ADS-B Out system that broadcasts an aircraft鈥檚 location is already required.
The families of the victims who died when an American Airlines jet collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter strongly supported the measure, and a number of them watched the vote from the House gallery. But the Airlines for American trade group, the military and the major general aviation groups that represent business jets and small plane owners backed a competing and more comprehensive House bill that was just introduced last week.
Tim Lilley, whose son Sam was the first officer on the airliner, said he鈥檚 really disappointed, but he and the other families will continue to press for meaningful reforms. And he hopes that will happen before the next tragedy.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to end up back here having the same conversation because of another midair (collision) is what鈥檚 going to happen. Hopefully 鈥� fingers crossed 鈥� that doesn鈥檛,鈥� Lilley said.
Under the special process that was used to fast-track the bill, the ROTOR Act needed to receive more than two-thirds support to pass the House. It received 264 votes, but 133 other representatives voted against it. ROTOR stands for 鈥淩otorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform.鈥�
House Speaker Mike Johnson told The Associated Press that the Senate and the House will work together to get an aviation safety bill done. 鈥淲e’re committed to it,鈥� he said.
And House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves said the House bill could be marked up in committee as soon as next week. That bill is designed to address , not just the locator technology, but NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy has said the House bill falls short of accomplishing that.
But Lilley said the bill Graves helped write needs to be strengthened.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e had 18 years to get it right. He鈥檚 talking about getting it right and he鈥檚 not even close on the collision avoidance piece,鈥� he said.
The cost of the ADS-B In mandate has been a concern. It鈥檚 not clear exactly how much it would cost partly because the systems haven鈥檛 yet been designed and certified for every aircraft, but Homendy testified in Congress that American Airlines was able to equip more than 300 of its Airbus a321s for $50,000 apiece, and general aviation pilots have the option of using a portable receiver that costs about $400 and works with an iPad.
One of the key researchers who helped develop these locator systems, Fabrice Kunzi, said a plane鈥檚 dashboard shouldn鈥檛 have to be overhauled to add a new display because the system is designed to give pilots an audible warning about nearby traffic with details of their locations if there is a risk of a collision.
House and Senate bills took a different approach
The key difference between the bills is that the House version would not require both kinds of the proven Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast systems to be installed. Instead, the House bill would require the Federal Aviation Administration to investigate what technology might be best as part of a lengthy rulemaking process before requiring a solution. The House bill also covers many more aspects of the NTSB identified as causing the crash on the evening of Jan. 29, 2025.
The bipartisan group of Senate leaders behind the ROTOR Act 鈥� led by Republican Ted Cruz and Democrat Maria Cantwell 鈥� had argued their bill would be a good first step before drafting additional legislation.
Cruz pledged to keep working to pass his bill, which earned bipartisan support Tuesday, because it would require all aircraft to play by the same set of rules. 鈥淲e will succeed, and ROTOR Act will become the law of the land,” he said. “The families and the flying public deserve nothing less.鈥�
The main Families of Flight 5342 group had said that while the House bill includes a number of good reforms that should be considered, they can鈥檛 support it as written because it doesn鈥檛 clearly require ADS-B In equipment. Everyone aboard the helicopter and the American Airlines jet flying from Wichita, Kansas, including the parents of and , died when the aircraft collided and plummeted into the icy Potomac River.
Sara Nelson, who is the president of the Association of Flight Attendants, said her union will keep pushing for changes because bill that failed 鈥渨as the clearest and most direct way to avoid midair collisions.鈥�
Doug Lane said that as he learned more about the crash that killed his wife and 16-year-old figure-skating son, he couldn鈥檛 understand why airplanes aren鈥檛 already equipped with technology that was first recommended before his son was born, and he’s angry the bill failed Tuesday. He said the House bill is a poor substitute because too many of its provisions just call for a study or rulemaking without requiring actual change and there are loopholes.
Lane said the House bill is 鈥渁 clear effort to just punt ADS-B In into a place where it can just go and die. It was not a good-faith effort to come up with a better way to do collision avoidance technology.鈥�
Improving the collision warning system
Any plane flying around a major airport is already required to have an that continually broadcasts an aircraft鈥檚 location and speed installed. ADS-B In systems that can receive those signals and be used to create a display showing pilots where all air traffic is located around them are not standard on airliners, though many general aviation pilots already use a portable receiver to display that information on an iPad.
The NTSB investigation showed that system would have provided significantly more warning to the pilots involved in the crash and would have allowed them to avoid the collision. A plane equipped with ADS-B In can give the pilot a detailed description of where other aircraft are, whereas the current technology can only warn that traffic is in the area.
Cantwell, the Washington Democrat, said most House Republicans “voted to protect loopholes that helped cause the DCA (Reagan Airport) midair collision rather than acting with urgency to prevent crashes like this from happening again. The families deserve better.鈥�
Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., who is chairman of an aviation safety caucus, voted for the bill. He said he was puzzled by the Pentagon鈥檚 last-minute shift on the bill. He also noted there were many absences among House members due to weather, which also affected the outcome.
He said he is sure that the families of the crash victims are disappointed after the vote.
鈥淏ut I don鈥檛 think they should be completely dejected. I do think there are avenues to bring it back,鈥� Langworthy said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 will to solve this problem.鈥�
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Associated Press writer Kevin Freking contributed to this report from Washington.
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