In a letter to in a letter to US House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R)and Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D) Vertical Aviation International shared it’s strong support for the Airspace Location and Enhanced Risk Transparency (ALERT) Act of 2026 The bipartisan legislation responds to the findings of the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) final report of its investigation of the mid air collision between a CRJ-700 and a UH-60 near Washington National Airport in January of last year.
The Act addresses all 50 safety recommendations made by the NTSB in its final report which was published this week. According to VAI the legislation will establish a ‘holistic framework for meaningful, system-wide improvements across the US National Airspace System’ including .
- Establishing requirements for equipping collision mitigation, avoidance, and alerting technologies and systems for civil fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft
- Improving helicopter route design, guidance, and separation
- Preventing loss of separation (near-miss) incidents
- Addressing deficiencies in the FAA’s safety culture
- Enhancing air traffic control training and procedures, particularly during high-traffic periods
- Strengthening airspace safety around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (KDCA), one of the busiest and most congested in the United States
- Repealing section 373(a) of the last National Defense Authorization Act.
“The ALERT Act represents a comprehensive effort to strengthen aviation safety in response to the NTSB’s findings,” says François Lassale, President and CEO of VAI. “This bipartisan legislation demonstrates Congress’s commitment to delivering thoughtful, data-driven reforms that strengthen safety throughout our aviation system.”
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