House Passes ALERT Act 396-10: Airlines Must Install Next-Gen Collision Avoidance by 2031
April 16, 2026 | By Quill | FODNews Staff
The U.S. House of Representatives passed landmark aviation safety legislation Tuesday with a near-unanimous 396–10 vote, mandating that commercial airlines, civil helicopters, and certain general aviation aircraft equip with next-generation collision avoidance technology by 2031.
The Airspace Location and Enhanced Risk Transparency (ALERT) Act of 2026 is a direct legislative response to the January 29, 2025, midair collision over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, which killed all 67 people aboard an American Airlines regional jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter.
What the ALERT Act Requires
The legislation’s centerpiece is a mandate for ADS-B In — technology that allows aircraft to receive real-time position data broadcast by other planes in the vicinity. Most commercial aircraft already transmit their own position via ADS-B Out, but relatively few are equipped to receive and display that data in the cockpit.
The National Transportation Safety Board concluded that ADS-B In, had it been installed on American Airlines Flight 5342, could have provided pilots with a timely alert about the Army helicopter’s proximity. The NTSB issued the ADS-B In requirement as recommendation A-26-31 in its investigation of the crash, designated case DCA25MA108.
The bill also requires military aircraft operating near busy airports to install collision-prevention technology by the same 2031 deadline, with carve-outs for fighters, bombers, drones, and special-mission aircraft. It addresses helicopter route safety and separation requirements — which the NTSB identified as a probable cause of the 2025 accident — and includes provisions to improve air traffic control training and processes.
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) praised the bill, noting it also permits portable ADS-B In units for Part 91 general aviation operations and includes provisions from the Pilot and Aircraft Privacy Act (PAPA), which restricts use of ADS-B data to safety and airspace efficiency purposes only.
Path to the House Floor
House leaders fast-tracked the ALERT Act under a procedure requiring support from two-thirds of members — a threshold the bill cleared comfortably. It amends an earlier version the NTSB had criticized in February as falling short of the board’s 50 post-crash recommendations.
After House amendments, the NTSB said the revised bill would require the Departments of Transportation and Defense, along with the FAA, “to take actions that, when completed, would address our recommendations.”
The path to Tuesday’s vote wasn’t smooth. A separate Senate bill — the Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform (ROTOR) Act — passed the Senate in late 2025 but stalled in the House in February after the Pentagon reversed its prior support. The Defense Department had initially endorsed the ROTOR Act in December 2025, then withdrew backing days before a House vote, citing “significant unresolved budgetary burdens and operational security risks affecting national defense activities.” The ROTOR Act failed by a single vote.
Senate Pushback and Criticism from Families
The ALERT Act now heads to a House-Senate conference committee, where lawmakers will work to reconcile it with the ROTOR Act.
Senate Commerce Committee leaders Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) issued a joint statement in March arguing the ALERT Act lacks a sufficiently clear requirement for ADS-B implementation. Cruz reiterated that position Tuesday, saying Congress “should not advance a bill that neither improves aviation safety nor closes the loopholes that have allowed operators, including the military, to fly blind in congested airspace.”
Families of the 67 victims also pushed back, saying the bill does not go far enough. “The collision prevention technologies ALERT relies upon are not market ready and could take years to become widely available,” they said in a statement. “Without installation-ready technology, broad waiver requests from industry will follow, and Congress will face immediate pressure to delay compliance rather than enforce it.”
The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) has similarly argued the 2031 deadline is too slow given the stakes, and has called for a more aggressive implementation timeline.
What Comes Next
The conference process will require House and Senate negotiators to reconcile the ALERT Act with the ROTOR Act’s requirements, balancing military readiness concerns against the safety mandate that emerged from one of the deadliest U.S. aviation disasters in years.
The FAA will play a central role in implementation regardless of which version ultimately becomes law. As the agency works through its FY2027 airport technology and research budget priorities, both bills direct it to set rulemaking timelines and enforce equipage requirements across the national airspace system.
The 396–10 House vote signals strong appetite for action. Whether the final legislation satisfies the NTSB’s full list of 50 recommendations — and the families still waiting for accountability — remains to be seen.
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Sources
- NTSB — Investigation DCA25MA108: Reagan National Airport Midair Collision
- AVweb — House Passes ALERT Act
- CBS News — House passes aviation safety bill in response to deadly midair collision near D.C.
- AIN Online — U.S. House Overwhelmingly Approves Air Safety Alert Act
- House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee — ALERT Act Bill Text
