House Passes ALERT Act Aviation Safety Bill 396-10 After Earlier Failed Attempt, Responding to Deadly D.C. Midair Collision

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 396-10 on Tuesday to pass the ALERT Act, sweeping aviation safety legislation crafted in direct response to the January 2025 midair collision between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet over Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people. The bill’s passage came on its second attempt after a nearly identical measure narrowly failed to secure the required two-thirds supermajority in February, falling just short in a vote that surprised lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

The ALERT Act — formally the Aviation Lasting Enhancements to Reassure Travelers Act — represents Congress’s most significant legislative response to what became the deadliest U.S. commercial aviation disaster in over two decades. The January 29, 2025, crash occurred as PSA Airlines Flight 5342, a Bombardier CRJ-700 regional jet operating as American Airlines Flight 5342, was on final approach to Reagan Washington National Airport. The aircraft collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter conducting a routine training flight along the Potomac River. All 60 passengers and four crew members aboard the regional jet perished, along with the three soldiers in the helicopter. The tragedy sent shockwaves through the aviation community, reigniting longstanding concerns about overcrowded airspace around the nation’s capital, chronic understaffing at the Federal Aviation Administration, and the adequacy of coordination protocols between military and civilian air traffic.

The bill’s February failure was a rare bipartisan embarrassment. Brought to the floor under suspension of the rules — a procedural mechanism typically reserved for noncontroversial legislation that requires a two-thirds vote rather than a simple majority — the measure fell just a handful of votes short. Some Republican members objected to provisions they viewed as expanding federal regulatory authority without adequate cost-benefit analysis, while a small number of Democrats raised concerns that the bill did not go far enough in addressing air traffic controller working conditions and hiring pipelines. In the intervening months, sponsors worked across party lines to adjust specific language, particularly around military flight corridor restrictions near civilian airports and funding mechanisms for FAA technology upgrades. The revised version addressed enough concerns to flip dozens of previously opposed or absent members, resulting in the overwhelming 396-10 margin on the second vote.

Key provisions of the ALERT Act include mandating minimum air traffic controller staffing levels at high-density airports, requiring the Department of Defense to establish formal coordination agreements with the FAA for all routine military flights within civilian terminal airspace, accelerating the deployment of next-generation collision avoidance technology, and commissioning an independent review of flight path configurations at the 30 busiest U.S. airports. The bill also includes language directing the FAA to complete a comprehensive audit of staffing levels at all terminal radar approach control (TRACON) facilities within 180 days. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board, which is still finalizing its full report on the January crash, have preliminarily identified communication breakdowns between military and civilian controllers as a contributing factor, lending urgency to the coordination provisions in the legislation.

The bill now heads to the Senate, where its path is less certain. The upper chamber has not yet scheduled hearings or a vote on companion legislation, and key senators on the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee have signaled they may seek to incorporate additional provisions related to pilot training standards and passenger compensation frameworks. Senate leadership has not committed to a specific timeline, though the emotional and political weight of the D.C. crash — which killed several prominent figures including national figure skating athletes and coaches — has created significant pressure for action before the end of the current session. Advocacy groups representing families of the victims have been lobbying both chambers intensively, drawing comparisons to the sustained campaign by Colgan Air crash families that ultimately reshaped pilot qualification rules nationwide.