U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) yesterday unveiled a bill that is designed to address several issues that surfaced in the aftermath of the January 29 midair collision by Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (KDCA), including a requirement for all aircraft—including military operations—to use ADS-B technology and for newly manufactured aircraft to be equipped with ADS-B Out and In. Sixty-seven people died when a U.S. Army Black Hawk collided with a PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 on final approach to KDCA.
Introduced six months after that accident, as well as just ahead of a three-day NTSB hearing on the events surrounding it, the Rotor Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform (ROTOR) Act closes a “loophole” that enabled military operators to turn off ADS-B, permitting only exceptions for “sensitive government missions” and not training flights. Following the accident, investigators found that the military branches routinely turned off ADS-B, and that was the case with the Black Hawk, which was on a training mission on January 29. Along those lines, the bill repeals a 2019 congressional measure that exempted the Department of Defense from ADS-B transmission requirements.
In addition, the bill calls on the FAA to release rules within two years for newly manufactured aircraft to be equipped with ADS-B Out and In, providing another year for compliance. It further requires the FAA to review helicopter routes near airports and directs the Army Office of Inspector General to conduct a safety coordination audit. The Commerce Committee noted that the OIG has “declined to voluntarily review the Army’s aviation safety practices.”
Joining Cruz in the introduction of the bill are Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), Ted Budd (R-North Carolina), Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia), Roger Marshall (R-Kansas), Eric Schmitt (R-Missouri), Tim Sheehy (R-Montana), and Todd Young (R-Indiana).
“Today is an auspicious day for aviation safety—a day marked by a revived spirit of hope and a shared determination to act in the face of an unforgettable tragedy,” Cruz said in introducing the bill. “American skies must be as safe as possible, and our duty as lawmakers is to ensure that they are. The ROTOR Act represents a common-sense step forward in aviation safety reform. One of the most important parts of this bill is the requirement that all aircraft, military and civilian, use both ADS-B Out and ADS-B In. We will not wait for another accident to happen before we finally protect American skies.”