Beyer Statement On Aviation Safety Legislation

Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA), who represents a Northern Virginia district that includes National Airport (DCA), issued the following statement today on federal aviation safety reform legislation, including the upcoming House vote on the ROTOR Act (S.2503) and the draft text released yesterday by the House Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure and Armed Services that would implement the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommendations from the final report on its investigation of the fatal January 2025 midair collision between PSA Airlines Flight 5342 and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River:

"The collision above the Potomac which claimed 67 lives last year was preventable, and we as elected leaders owe it to those we lost and to their families to do all we can to stop this tragedy from ever happening again. This means taking comprehensive and expedient legislative action to improve aviation safety. I look forward to voting in favor of the ROTOR Act next week, and am proud to support the draft text released by House leaders on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee yesterday.

"I am thrilled that the ROTOR Act, which I cosponsor, is coming to the House Floor for a vote next week. The ROTOR Act takes a critical step toward ensuring a safer airspace for the flying public. NTSB has been clear that having access to Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) In technology could have given the pilots on the night of the collision a greater chance to avoid the collision. It is high time that ADS-B Out and In are required in our nation's busiest airspaces like the National Capital Region-and this bill ensures that our pilots are equipped with both tools as soon as possible.

"In addition, the comprehensive draft text being led by Chairman Graves, Ranking Member Larsen, Ranking Member Smith, and Chairman Rogers is a bipartisan compromise that addresses the systemic roots of many of the causes of the January 2025 collision, and which responds to all of NTSB's safety recommendations arising from its investigation of this accident. This bill includes key provisions like a reevaluation of National Airport's arrival rate, installation of time-based flow management in the Potomac Consolidated Terminal RADAR Approach Control (TRACON), improvements to the helicopter route review processes, and technological assessments on sharing communications frequencies and on anti-blocking technologies that can alert pilots to when communications have been unknowingly blocked by other communications transmitted at the same time, often referred to as being 'stepped on.'

"Both of these bills carry forward critical improvements that are necessary to bolstering our aviation safety. I support the strength and urgency of the calls for ADS-B implementation in the ROTOR Act, and the comprehensive, systemic reforms and forward-looking technological improvements in the ALERT Act draft legislation. I urge House leaders to resolve any conflicts in the implementation of the collision mitigation systems in these bills in a manner that supports the highest standard for aviation safety, and I hope to see the core aviation safety reforms in each bill swiftly passed into law.

"I thank our House and Senate partners who have championed these important pieces of legislation, the National Transportation Safety Board for its leadership and dedication to improving aviation safety, and families of victims themselves, who have fought tirelessly to make policy changes aimed at preventing similar accidents from ever happening again. Congress should pass these important aviation safety reforms without delay."

Congressman Beyer has consistently championed aviation safety and long advocated for measures to alleviate congested air traffic in Northern Virginia skies. After the tragic collision between PSA Airlines Flight 5342 and a U.S. Army helicopter, Beyer urged for a safety review and an extended halt of military helicopter training in the airspace around DCA. Beyer also helped secure language requiring the Department of Transportation to conduct an independent safety review of DCA's airspace, civil-military coordination, and operational safety in the National Capital Region as part of the FY26 Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations Act, which was recently passed into law on February 3, 2026. Beyer was among the first voices to urge the Trump Administration to adopt the National Transportation Safety Board's preliminary recommendations following its investigation of the incident.