Cantwell, Cruz Announce Agreement on Aviation Safety Legislation

WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and senior member of the Finance Committee, and Ted Cruz (R-TX), Chair of the Commerce Committee, announced a bipartisan agreement requiring aircraft operators to equip their fleets with Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast In (ADS-B In), technology that increases pilots’ awareness to the location of other aircraft, by December 31, 2031. The agreement also addresses several safety issues identified by the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) investigation into the mid-air collision near Reagan National Airport (DCA) that took 67 lives on January 29, including closing the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) Out loophole, strengthening FAA-Department of Defense (DoD) coordination, and requiring proactive and comprehensive safety reviews of aircraft operations at all major and mid-size airports across the country.
ADS-B technology is a crucial safety feature for situational awareness. ADS-B Out, when activated, automatically sends a beacon out from an operating flight to provide air traffic control towers a picture of an aircraft's precise location without relying solely on radar. The Black Hawk helicopter involved in the January 29thDCA collision was not transmitting ADS-B Out. ADS-B In allows aircraft to receive the location of other aircraft through ADS-B Out and other transmissions to provide stronger situational awareness to pilots of other flights in their vicinity.
The comprehensive reviews would evaluate any possible safety risks to commercial airline flights from other flight traffic including from military, law enforcement, civilian fixed wing and helicopter, powered lift, emergency first responder, and drone flights. While there are no specific safety deficiencies that have been identified at these airports that motivate these reviews, they are meant to proactively review for airspace safety issues to prevent any future incidents. The agreed to legislation also requires the FAA to recommend potential improvements to airspace safety after conducting such reviews that would be required for Class B and Class C airports nationwide. Seattle-Tacoma International is a Class B airport. Spokane International and Portland International are both Class C airports. Smaller Class C airports would also be subject to proactive reviews; these include Spokane Fairchild AFB, NAS Whidbey Island, and Point Roberts Airpark.
“Bipartisan cooperation must ensure safety improvements are reached in aviation as quickly as possible,”said Sen. Cantwell.“The agreed upon language delivers real aviation safety improvements by making sure that ADS-B In and Out requirements are truly implemented after 17 years of delay with no FAA loopholes. This agreement closes DoD loopholes immediately and mandates ADS-B In for the first time, locking in a hard deadline so the FAA can’t continue delaying implementation."
“What happened at DCA on January 29th was a tragedy,”said Sen. Cruz.“67 lives were lost, and their families have had to endure an unfathomable amount of grief. We owe it to them and every traveling American to make sure another accident never happens again. The ROTOR Act makes common-sense safety improvements that are long overdue. I am thankful to Sen. Cantwell for her willingness to work with me on passing this critical piece of legislation to protect American skies.”
“We appreciate Senators Cruz and Cantwell for demonstrating that aviation safety transcends politics,”said Tim and Sheri Lilley, whose son, Tim, was the First Officer of Flight 5342.“Their agreement marks an important step toward addressing the risks that cost our son, First Officer Sam Lilley, and 66 others their lives. We call on Congress to continue moving quickly and decisively to pass and fully implement these reforms because every person who boards an aircraft depends on it.”
“The Families of Flight 5342 deeply thank Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) for their bipartisan leadership in advancing the Cruz/Cantwell ROTOR Act- an essential first step toward fixing the failures that cost 67 lives on January 29, 2025. Their action demonstrates that safety must always come before politics, profit, or convenience.”- The Families of Flight 5342
The bipartisan agreement includes key elements of Sen. Cantwell’sSafe Operation of Shared Airspace (SOSA) Act, introduced in June, that address multiple safety oversight failures exposed by the tragedy, including the Army Black Hawk helicopter not transmitting ADS-B technology, unsafe route design for mixed traffic near DCA, and a lack of FAA and DoD coordination and information sharing. SOSA also addresses long-standing FAA air traffic controller shortages, FAA internal safety management systems and the need for important post-accident safety reviews. The legislation is co-sponsored by Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.)
The Cantwell-Cruz Bipartisan Aviation Safety Agreement:
This agreement builds on Senator Cantwell's extensive record on aviation safety. Under her leadership as Commerce Committee Chair, theFederal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2024passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, prioritizing air traffic controller hiring, FAA safety staffing, and implementing key NTSB safety recommendations like 25-hour cockpit voice recorders. Her landmark 2020 Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act strengthened FAA oversight of manufacturers following the Boeing 737 MAX crashes. Senator Cantwell has pursued accountability and solutions following the January 29th collision, calling forpermanent helicopter restrictions, demanding Defense Secretary Hegseth provideclarification on military ADS-B policiesand joining Chairman Cruz in requestingconcurrent DOT and Army Inspector General auditsof DCA airspace safety issues.
The agreement text isHERE.
###