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Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform Act

Floor Speech

Date: Feb. 23, 2026
Location: Washington, DC

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Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 2503, the ROTOR Act.

Last year's January 29 midair collision at Reagan National Airport tragically took 67 lives, but it was preventable. It is our duty to do everything we can to keep this tragedy from ever happening again.

This bill would implement a central recommendation from the NTSB's final report on the collision: a requirement to use Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast technology, ADS-B Out and In.

NTSB has recommended an ADS-B In requirement 17 times before.

NTSB's final report said that the ADS-B In would have alerted the flight crew 59 seconds before the collision and the helicopter crew 48 seconds before.

ADS-B In would have given those pilots a fighting chance to avoid the disaster. It is high time that ADS-B Out and In are required in our Nation's busiest airspaces like the national capital region.

Passing the ROTOR Act is the strongest first step we can take for ensuring a safer airspace for the flying public today to improve aviation safety and prevent a future crash at DCA.

I thank Chairman Graves, Ranking Member Larsen, Ranking Member Smith, and Chairman Rogers for the comprehensive draft legislation they released last week addressing the systemic causes of the January 2025 collision.

Their ALERT Act of 2026 improves important must-pass provisions. We need to reevaluate the arrival rate at National Airport. We need to improve our helicopter route charts. We need to limit military helicopter flights in our region. But Congress must pass the ROTOR Act this week to mandate that pilots have access to ADS-B In and Out as soon as possible.

Then we must immediately work to advance the ALERT Act of 2026 while reconciling any differences in a way that maximizes aviation safety to ensure that all of the recommendations of the NTSB can be adopted.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the families of flight 5342 who have been a driving force for the ROTOR Act and for aviation safety reform. These families have been advocates, experts, and champions all in the face of tremendous loss. It has been an honor to work with them.

Passing the ROTOR Act is the first and strongest step that Congress must take to immediately give pilots another key tool to prevent collisions and begin saving lives now.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the ROTOR Act and soon the ALERT Act of 2026.

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