U.S. House of Representatives to Take Up Safety Legislation in Response to Tragic DCA Crash

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, led by Chairman Sam Graves (R-Missouri) and Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D-Washington), has committed to marking up the Airspace Location and Enhanced Risk Transparency (ALERT) Act H.R.7613as early as next week. The ALERT Act, introduced last week by leadership of both the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Armed Services Committee, is in response to the tragic crash of American Airlines Flight 5342 and a UH-60 Army helicopter at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) on January 29, 2025.

The ALERT Act is a comprehensive bipartisan legislative response, introduced after the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued its final report on February 17, 2026. The NTSB’s nearly 400-page report cited 50 recommendations directed at the FAA and the military. The recommendations, issued after a yearlong investigation, cover areas that include airspace design and construction, air traffic control procedures, controller training, visual separation procedures, and collision avoidance technology.

Chairman Graves, in his Monday statement in the House of Representatives, said that the ALERT Act is a “…comprehensive package of improvements that addresses all 50 safety recommendations issued by the NTSB.” The act, as currently drafted, directs the FAA to expand the use of the collision avoidance technology ACAS-Xa on turbine-powered fixed-wing aircraft and rotorcraft in certain airspace, as well as systems that can process ADS-B In signals and issue traffic alerts to pilots. The act addresses other recommendations by directing the FAA to establish rulemaking committees and working groups bringing together broad industry expertise to propose and implement changes and enhancements to the National Airspace System.

EAA welcomed the introduction of the ALERT Act as it provides a comprehensive and targeted approach to addressing the NTSB’s recommendations by leveraging technology, industry expertise, and lessons learned to improve safety while allowing flexibility and considering the needs of the various users of the National Airspace System.

The Committee will take up debate and mark up on the ALERT Act, after the House considered, but did not pass the Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform (ROTOR) Act S.2503 on a vote of 264-133. The ROTOR Act, sponsored by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), was introduced in July 2025, also in response to the DCA crash.  

The ROTOR Act, which passed out of the Senate in December with unanimous support, would address aviation safety by requiring ADS-B In equipment in aircraft operating in airspace requiring ADS-Out by December 31, 2031. This addresses one of the recommendations from the DCA crash, as well as a longstanding recommendation made by the NTSB. The act would allow for the use of portable ADS-B In for general aviation aircraft under 12,500 lbs.