ALERT Act introduced to House to improve U.S. airspace safety

The Airspace Location and Enhanced Risk Transparency (ALERT) Act of 2026 was introduced to the House of Representatives on Feb. 19 as a response to the midair collision between an American Airlines Bombardier CRJ 700 and a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk Army helicopter at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) on Jan. 2025.
The Act addresses all 50 recommendations issued by the NTSB and considers all probable causes of the collision, according to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. It is led by Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO), Committee Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D-WA), Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL), and Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA).
“The collision of American Airlines Flight 5342 with an Army Black Hawk helicopter in our nation’s capital was a terrible tragedy, and I will continue to pray for the families of the 67 victims,” said Graves. “The NTSB provided a thorough investigation into all of the factors that caused this crash. As I have said from the beginning, the best way to serve and honor the victims and their families is by thoughtfully addressing the broad range of safety issues raised by the now-complete accident investigation, and that’s just what the ALERT Act does. This comprehensive bill will make our aviation system safer by directly addressing various factors that contributed to this accident. I want to thank Tandamp;I Ranking Member Larsen, Armed Services Chair Rogers, and Armed Services Ranking Member Smith for their partnership and leadership in drafting this important bill, and I look forward to moving it through the House to strengthen the safety of American aviation.”
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Safety issues ALERT is supposed to address include:
Requirements for equipping collision mitigation, avoidance and alerting technologies and systems
Improving helicopter route design, guidance and separation
Preventing loss of separation incidents
Addressing faults in the FAA’s safety culture
Improving ATC training and procedure
Increasing safety in DCA airspace
“Safety is business aviation’s highest priority, first and always,” said Ed Bolen, NBAA president and CEO. “We commend Committee Chairman Graves, Chairman Rogers, and Ranking Members Larsen and Smith, for joining to introduce this landmark legislation to meaningfully strengthen safety, while providing a path for adoption across the wide diversity of aircraft in the aviation fleet.”