The U.S. Senate passed the Motorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform (ROTOR) Act in aftermath of the 2025 midair collision between an American Airlines Flight and an Army Black Hawk helicopter that killed 67 people near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
“Congress owes it to the traveling public, and to the families who lost loved ones in the January 29 crash over the Potomac River, to address the systemic flaws that contributed to this tragedy,” said Sen. Mark Warner and Sen. Tim Kaine in a joint statement.
The bill is meant to improve coordination between the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Defense. In addition, it requires safety reviews of busy airports like Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).
It also promises to advance Airborne Collision Avoidance System-X, which is a collision avoidance technology.
“This technology provides better traffic conflict resolution alerts to pilots and can better prevent mid-air helicopter collisions at lower altitudes where existing collision avoidance technology does not activate,” according to Warner and Kaine’s statement on the bill.
Warner and Kaine urged the House of Representatives to act quickly to pass the bill into law to “provide real protections for passengers, flight crews, first responders, and the families still grieving the loss of their loved ones.”
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