Chairman Cruz: NTSB Affirms Need to Pass ROTOR Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, in a statement recognized the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)'s findings and safety recommendations in its investigation of the midair collision involving American Airlines Flight 5342 and a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter on January 29, 2025.

NTSB board members adopted more than 45 recommendations. One recommendation directs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to require all aircraft that operate where broadcasting ADS-B Out is required to also use ADS-B In. The Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform (ROTOR) Act, which the Senate passed unanimously in December, would codify this recommendation.

Sen. Cruz said:

"The NTSB's findings and recommendations today make it clear - it is time for the House to pass the ROTOR Act. The NTSB has called for aircraft to broadcast and receive real-time location reports 17 times over the past two decades; today marks number 18. I am committed to ensuring that not one more life is lost for us to learn this lesson. The ROTOR Act codifies this key NTSB recommendation and honors the victims of the DCA crash by making our air space safer for all Americans who fly."

Background:

The ROTOR Act requires all aircraft, civil and military, to equip and receive ADS-B broadcasting signals. The bill also directs the FAA to comprehensively evaluate the safety of airspaces around airports across the country so that no other airspace has the same risk of collisions as DCA did on January 29, 2025, and it improves aviation safety information sharing between the FAA and the military. Finally, the updated ROTOR Act strips section 373(a) from the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which widens the loophole that allows military helicopters to operate in DC airspace without broadcasting their location. The ROTOR Act has the backing of the White House and the Department of War.

Senator Cruz introduced the ROTOR Act along with Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Aviation, Space, and Innovation; Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.); Ted Budd (R-N.C.); Shelly Moore Capito (R-W.Va.); Roger Marshall (R-Kan.); Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.); Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.); and Todd Young (R-Ind.) in July, six months to the day after the January 29th midair collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). In October, he and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) reached a bipartisan compromise and passed the bill unanimously out of the Commerce Committee. In December, the Senate unanimously passed the ROTOR Act.