House Panels to Consider Sweeping Aviation Safety Reforms

Two U.S. House committees on Thursday are set to consider sweeping aviation safety reform legislation to address 50 recommendations issued after a January 2025 collision between an American Airlines regional jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter that killed 67 people. The National Transportation Safety Board said in an analysis reviewed by Reuters that the revised ALERT Act largely requires implementation of the recommendations it made after its year-long investigation.

The bill, which will be considered by the House Armed Services and Transportation and Infrastructure committees, establishes requirements for equipping collision mitigation technologies for airplanes and helicopters and addresses deficiencies in the FAA's safety culture, enhances air traffic control training and procedures, and strengthens safety of airspace around Reagan Washington National Airport where the fatal collision occurred last year.

The U.S. House failed to pass a separate aviation bill last month after the Pentagon withdrew its support and despite pleas from lawmakers and relatives of those killed in the American Airlines collision, the worst U.S. aviation disaster since 2001.

The ROTOR Act had been passed unanimously by the U.S. Senate in December and would have required aircraft operators to equip their fleets with a safety system known as the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, or ADS-B, by the end of 2031. But under fast-track rules designed to expedite legislation, the bill needed a two-thirds majority in the House to pass, and it fell one vote short.

The NTSB said last month an earlier version of ALERT did not meet its recommendations. The bill before the House committees now would require airborne collision avoidance systems to be installed on airplanes by the end of 2031 and the use of ADS–B. The bill also requires a review of flight frequency at Reagan National - which has the nation's single busiest runway - to determine if it can handle current traffic.

The ROTOR Act passed by the Senate would also boost oversight of commercial jet and helicopter traffic and flight routes near commercial airports. If the House passes the ALERT Act, the House and Senate would likely meet to work out differences between the two bills before any measure could become law.

Last week, the FAA tightened helicopter safety rules and suspended the use of sight primarily to maintain safe separation distances between airplanes and helicopters near major airports.