US Senator seeks broad changes to air safety legislation after Black Hawk crash
US Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz announced that he intends to propose broad changes to broad air safety legislation that will require US Army helicopters to fly with key flight tracking technology turned on.
The bill’s purpose, the senator said, is to close the “regulatory loophole” that allowed a US Army Black Hawk to fly without the use of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), which resulted in a fatal collision with an American Eagle Bombardier CRJ700 in January 2025.
The ADS-B is an advanced surveillance technology that provides an aircraft’s location to air traffic control and other aircraft pilots.
#UPDATE U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz said on Tuesday he will propose broad air safety legislation after a collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet in January near Reagan Washington National Airport that killed 67 people.The…— CGTN America (@cgtnamerica) July 15, 2025 According to a report by Reuters, Cruz said that the legislation would require the use of ADS-B by US Army helicopters near civilian planes, mandate a review of helicopter routes across the country and require the Army Inspector General to review “systemic breakdowns” that may have contributed to the fatal collision that killed 67 people.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is planning to hold a three-day investigative hearing to look into the collision by the end of July 2025.
“Radar blind spots, telecommunication failures, and capacity bottlenecks expose the vulnerabilities of a system designed for a previous era,” Cruz said.
Cruz also said that his Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform bill, or ROTOR Act, will “review helicopter routes at airports across the country”, and will require the Army inspector general to review systemic breakdowns that may have contributed to the crash.
In March 2025, an outraged Cruz said he found it “completely unacceptable” that the US Army failed to provide a memo relating to its use of ADS-B in the National Capital Region or Washington, D.C. area, where the collision occurred.
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US Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz announced that he intends to propose broad changes to broad air…
The post US Senator seeks broad changes to air safety legislation after Black Hawk crash appeared first on AeroTime.
