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U.S. Sen. Mark Warner and Rep. Don Beyer, both Virginia Democrats whose constituents rely on Reagan National Airport daily, are pressing the House to revive a bipartisan aviation safety bill after lawmakers failed to advance the legislation Monday — more than a year after a midair collision near DCA killed 67 people.
"I am deeply disappointed that the House today voted not to advance the ROTOR Act," Warner said in a statement issued Monday. "This commonsense, bipartisan bill reflects critical recommendations of the National Transportation Safety Board and has earned the strong support of crash victims' families and pilot unions alike."
The Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform Act — known as the ROTOR Act — passed the Senate unanimously in December and was sent to the House for consideration. The legislation was written in direct response to the Jan. 29, 2025, collision between American Airlines Flight 5342 and an Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River on approach to DCA, which the NTSB ruled avoidable.
Beyer, who represents a Northern Virginia district that includes DCA, spoke on the House floor the night before the vote in support of the bill, crediting the families of victims for their advocacy. Several of those family members joined Beyer and other lawmakers at a Capitol Hill press conference Monday morning ahead of the vote, even as the Department of Defense and several committee leaders issued statements opposing the legislation.
"Last year's January 29 midair collision at National Airport tragically took 67 lives, but it was preventable," Beyer said on the floor. "It is our duty to do everything we can to stop this tragedy from ever happening again."
The bill addresses several specific failures identified in the crash investigation. The Army Black Hawk was not transmitting ADS-B signals — a radio technology that allows aircraft to share their positions with each other and with air traffic control — at the time of the collision. According to the NTSB's final report, ADS-B In technology would have alerted the flight crew 59 seconds before the collision and the helicopter crew 48 seconds before impact.
"ADS-B In would have given those pilots a fighting chance to avoid the disaster," Beyer said.
The ROTOR Act would set a 2031 deadline for commercial, military and general aviation operators to equip with ADS-B technology and would end longstanding Department of Defense exemptions that have allowed military aircraft to fly near busy airports like DCA without transmitting their location. The legislation would also require comprehensive FAA safety reviews of DCA airspace and all major and mid-size airports, mandate new coordination agreements between the FAA and the Department of Defense, and lay the groundwork for next-generation collision avoidance technology better suited to low-altitude helicopter operations.
The bill required a two-thirds majority for passage under the procedural measure used to bring it to the floor. Warner said Thursday it appeared to have that level of support before House Speaker Mike Johnson cut off the vote.
"Those families, and those of us who fly in and out of National all the time, we've got to have the kind of safety protocols put in place," Warner said during a remote media availability from the Capitol on Thursday.
Beyer said he wants the House to pass the ROTOR Act immediately, then move to reconcile it with a broader House aviation safety package — the ALERT Act — to address the full range of NTSB recommendations, including a reevaluation of arrival rates at DCA, improved helicopter route charts and limits on military helicopter flights in the National Capital Region.
Warner and fellow Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, who co-sponsored the legislation, urged House members on both sides of the aisle to engage with the Senate and find a swift path forward.
"The safety of the flying public depends on it," Warner said.
