ROTOR Act Passes Senate, Would Close ADS-B Loopholes

The U.S. Senate passed the Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform (ROTOR) Act yesterday, and now it moves to the House of Representatives for consideration. The passage of the act comes as the United States, in a 209-page court filing yesterday, admitted liability in the midair collision between American Airlines Flight 5342 (operated by PSA Airlines) and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on January 29 near Ronald Reagan National Airport (KDCA). The ROTOR Act is intended to mitigate the issues with government aircraft not broadcasting position information via ADS-B while flying in the Washington, D.C. region.

The 209-page complaint filed yesterday is a response by the United States in the case of Rachel Crafton, administratrix of the estate of Casey Crafton, who died in the accident, and is represented by attorney Robert Clifford.

“In a very carefully drafted and lengthy legal filing, the United States admits the Army’s responsibility for the needless loss of life in the crash of an Army helicopter and American Airlines Flight 5342 at Reagan National Airport, as well as the FAA’s failure to follow air traffic control procedure,” Clifford explained. “The government, however, rightfully acknowledges that it is not the only entity responsible for this deadly crash, and, indeed, it asserts that its conduct is but one of several causes of the loss of life that January evening. PSA Airlines and American Airlines have filed motions to dismiss the claims against them.

“The families and their counsel will carefully study these new filings. In the meantime, these families remain deeply saddened and anchored in the grief caused by this tragic loss of life. During this holiday season, the families are especially disheartened by the shattered joyfulness without their loved ones.

“We continue to investigate this matter to ensure all parties at fault are held accountable, and we await additional findings from the NTSB in an anticipated January 26 hearing on this matter in Washington, D.C,” Clifford concluded.

While its admission of liability is couched in legal language that also assigns blame to the airline and the FAA’s air traffic control system, the U.S. government does admit “that the PAT25 [Black Hawk] and [Flight] 5342 pilots failed to maintain vigilance so as to see and avoid each other; the DCA local controller did not comply with ¶ 7-2-1(a)(2)(d) of FAA Order JO 7110.65AA, chg. 3, Air Traffic Control (Sept. 5, 2024); and because of the PAT25 pilots’ failure to maintain vigilance so as to see and avoid [Flight] 5342, the United States is liable to a plaintiff who is legally eligible to recover certain monetary damages, as permitted by the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), 28 U.S.C. §§ 1346(b), 2671–80, in an amount yet to be determined and apportioned among other tortfeasors.”

“The ROTOR Act would strengthen aviation safety standards impacted by a provision in the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act [NDAA],” according to Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), who introduced the legislation along with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). The NDAA’s section 373 would have allowed government aircraft to operate in the D.C. region without ADS-B Out equipment that would broadcast their position, instead relying on TCAS-based detection systems that use transponder information to warn of other aircraft. This was essentially the state of affairs at the time of the accident, and many legislators and aviation groups warned against the provisions in the NDAA that would have allowed this.

During “The State of American Aviation” hearing by the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure on December 16, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford was asked about the NDAA and ROTOR Act provisions.

“I'm told it's FAA policy not to comment on legislation while it's going through the process, and I will try to respect that,” Bedford said. “I will advise the committee that normally when language like this is discussed, it's customary to reach out to the FAA and ask for a technical consult or some form of technical advisory. I can tell you that did not happen in this case. We learned of section 373 essentially when everybody else did last week.

“Let me be clear that our intent is not to go back to where we were prior to January the 29th. As long as I'm administrator and I believe it's true as long as Secretary Duffy is secretary of transportation, we are not going to go back into a position of a less safe airspace environment. We will monitor the airspace with vigilance and with safety first. I do not believe that the military should be conducting any classified training missions or check rides up and down the Potomac River in one of the most congested Class B airspaces in the country.”

The ROTOR Act’s key provision is for all aircraft required to be equipped with ADS-B Out also to be equipped with ADS-B In, and this would require the FAA to issue regulations no later than two years after enactment of the act. The rules would require not only equipage but also that the aircraft operate their ADS-B Out and In features.

While “sensitive government missions” wouldn’t be required to comply with ADS-B mandates, the act defines these as “shall not include routine flights, nonclassified flights, proficiency flights, or flights of federal officials below the rank of cabinet member or the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.” Other provisions address reporting about noncompliance with the regulations and audits of FAA oversight of excepted operations.

While Bedford expressed concern during the hearing about imposing high costs on light aircraft owners, the ROTOR Act offers relief for aircraft weighing less than 12,500 pounds mtow and operating under Part 91, including qualifying military aircraft. In this case, alternative equipment could “leverage the use of portable ADS–B In receivers or equipment that allows display on an existing or future electronic flight bag or panel-mounted display, provided that the installation or use of such equipment does not adversely affect other required avionics or the airworthiness of the aircraft.”

“As a pilot, I love it,” Bedford said. “We want more situational awareness, not less. More information is always better. As a private pilot, as a recreational pilot, I do have concerns about the cost. If we use traditional FAA methods and say it has to be embedded on an airplane, I'm not going to want to buy a $50,000 upgrade for my Cessna 172. But if I can get…a portable device I can buy for 99 bucks, sure, I'm in, I'm encouraged.”

Typical portable ADS-B In receivers range from a few hundred dollars to nearly $1,000. Many common avionics units installed in light aircraft, turboprops, and business jets include ADS-B In, and the technology is becoming more ubiquitous in many aircraft types.