On December 17, 2025, the U.S. Senate took swift action to address a glaring loophole in aviation safety—one that, just months earlier, had contributed to the deadliest plane crash on American soil in more than two decades. The bipartisan bill, approved in the wake of a devastating mid-air collision over Washington, D.C., aims to ensure that all aircraft, including military helicopters, broadcast their locations using Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B) technology.
The urgency behind this legislative push is rooted in the tragic events of January 2025, when an Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet collided as the jet was landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport. The crash killed 67 people, including 60 passengers, four crew members, and three soldiers. At least 28 bodies were recovered from the icy waters of the Potomac River, underscoring the horror and heartbreak that swept through families and communities nationwide, according to reporting from Alaska Dispatch News and Associated Press.
Republican Senator Ted Cruz, a leading proponent of the new legislation, didn’t mince words about the cause of the crash. "Tragedy could have been avoided" if the Army Black Hawk had been broadcasting its location, Cruz stated, emphasizing the life-saving potential of the ADS-B mandate. The bill, crafted with bipartisan support from Senator Maria Cantwell and the rest of the Commerce Committee, is expected to head to the House soon, with optimism that it could reach the president’s desk as early as next month.
The collision’s aftermath revealed a troubling pattern: the military helicopter was flying with its ADS-B system turned off, a decision driven by concerns about operational security during a training mission. Yet, as the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) later revealed, this was not an isolated oversight. In the three years preceding the crash, there had been 85 near misses in the congested airspace around Washington, D.C. Despite repeated recommendations from the NTSB, a universal requirement for aircraft locator systems—ones that both send and receive location data—had languished amid debates over cost and privacy, particularly among general aviation pilots.
According to court filings and government admissions reported by Associated Press, the tragedy was not solely the result of a single error. The U.S. government acknowledged that both an air traffic controller and the Army helicopter pilots shared blame. The controller had violated visual separation procedures, while the pilots failed "to maintain vigilance so as to see and avoid" the jet. The government’s lawyers declared, “The United States admits that it owed a duty of care to plaintiffs, which it breached, thereby proximately causing the tragic accident.”
This admission was remarkable in its candor and speed. Aviation litigation expert Richard J. Levy remarked, “They would not have done that if there was a doubt in their mind about anything the controller did or that the Army did.” The government’s early acceptance of liability, less than a year after the crash, stands out in the often-contentious arena of aviation lawsuits, where finger-pointing and protracted legal battles are the norm.
The lawsuit filed by victims’ families also pointed fingers at American Airlines and its regional partner, PSA Airlines, alleging they failed to properly mitigate the risks of operating so close to helicopter routes and didn’t adequately train their pilots. Both airlines, however, have filed motions to dismiss, arguing that legal responsibility rests with the government. American Airlines, in a statement, said, "plaintiffs’ proper legal recourse is not against American. It is against the United States government ... The Court should therefore dismiss American from this lawsuit.”
Investigators have been piecing together a complex picture of what went wrong that night. The NTSB, which will release its full report in early 2026, has already highlighted several contributing factors. The Black Hawk was flying 78 feet higher than the 200-foot limit on its route, creating a dangerous overlap with the path of planes landing on Reagan’s secondary runway. FAA officials admitted that air traffic controllers had become overly reliant on visual separation—a practice that has since been discontinued. The controller twice asked the helicopter pilots if they had the jet in sight, and the pilots, using night vision goggles, claimed they did. Yet, questions remain about whether they could truly see the approaching plane and whether instrument errors further clouded their situational awareness.
The collision’s victims included a group of elite young figure skaters, their parents, and coaches returning from a competition in Kansas, as well as four union steamfitters from the Washington area. The magnitude of the loss was echoed by Tim and Sheri Lilley, whose son Sam was the first officer on the doomed jet. In a statement, they said, “today’s action acknowledges the magnitude of that loss and affirms that meaningful change can come from it.”
In response to the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration took immediate steps to tighten safety. By March 2025, all military helicopters were required to keep their locator systems turned on when flying near the capital. The FAA also imposed new airspace restrictions: whenever a helicopter passes Reagan National Airport, takeoffs and landings are paused, and certain routes have been closed. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford has vowed to maintain these heightened safety measures, regardless of the outcome of the military bill.
The new Senate bill goes further, mandating a comprehensive review of airport safety across the country and requiring the military and FAA to share safety data more freely. The aim is to prevent a repeat of the systemic failures that contributed to the crash. While airline jets and newer general aviation planes already carry ADS-B Out systems to broadcast their locations, the more advanced ADS-B In—which allows aircraft to receive data about others in the vicinity—remains uncommon. The legislation seeks to close that gap, pushing for universal adoption in the name of public safety.
Yet, not everyone is entirely on board. Some private aircraft owners worry about the costs of upgrading their planes, while privacy advocates express concern over the increased trackability of flights. Still, the overwhelming bipartisan support and the White House’s endorsement signal a rare moment of unity in Washington, driven by the shared goal of preventing another tragedy.
As the NTSB prepares its final report and the House considers the Senate’s bill, the lessons of January’s disaster loom large. For the families of the victims and the broader public, the hope is that meaningful reform—born of heartbreak—will make the nation’s skies safer for everyone.
