National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy on Monday urged Congress to settle a prolonged disagreement over competing aviation safety proposals and to pass substantial reforms recommended by the board.
Homendy said the NTSB had "provided a clear roadmap to improve aviation safety and reduce the risk of another catastrophic midair collision. Now it’s time for action that was promised months ago." She emphasized the need for lawmakers to move quickly to implement changes the board has identified.
In April, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a comprehensive aviation safety reform bill by a margin of 396-10. That legislation seeks to address dozens of recommendations issued in the wake of a January 2025 collision between an American Airlines regional jet and a U.S. Army helicopter that resulted in 67 fatalities. A competing measure, known as the ROTOR Act, won unanimous approval in the U.S. Senate in December but, under fast-track rules, required a two-thirds majority in the House and missed passage there by one vote.
The NTSB has concluded that the presence of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, or ADS-B, would have prevented the 2025 collision in the heavily trafficked airspace near the nation’s capital. In January, the NTSB determined that systemic failures at the Federal Aviation Administration led to the accident, which it described as the worst U.S. aviation disaster since 2001.
Key provisions in the House bill call for installation of collision-prevention technologies on all military aircraft by 2031, with exceptions for fighters, bombers and drones. The measure also sets requirements for equipping civilian airplanes and helicopters with collision-mitigation systems. Lawmakers from the House and Senate have been engaged in talks to reconcile differences between the two bills.
Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Bryan Bedford said earlier this month that he had provided technical assistance to Congress on the competing measures. "More situational awareness faster is better than waiting for the perfect solution that might not happen for six or seven years," Bedford said. He added that while the FAA could proceed with deploying ADS-B without congressional action, the agency would prefer clear direction from lawmakers.
The NTSB’s investigation found that the January 2025 accident was caused in part by the FAA’s decision to allow helicopters to operate close to the airport without safeguards to separate them from airplanes, and by the agency’s failure to review data and act on recommendations to move helicopter traffic away from the airport. That finding underpinned the board’s push for more rapid adoption of collision-prevention systems and regulatory changes.
With negotiations continuing between the House and Senate, advocates for the reforms say passage of a unified bill is necessary to translate the NTSB’s roadmap into enforceable requirements for both military and civilian operators. The ongoing legislative discussions will determine whether the competing approaches can be merged into a single package acceptable to both chambers.
Sector implications
- Aviation operations and air traffic management
- Military aviation and defense-related aircraft procurement
- Commercial airlines and aerospace equipment manufacturers