By Erin Keen, Staff Writer
The bipartisan Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform Act (ROTOR Act) passed the Senate unanimously back in December 2025. The bill aimed to address aviation safety by expanding oversight and increasing requirements for aircraft tracking and communication using Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) technology.[1] Current law does not require aircraft to operate with ADS-B, which provides aircraft with the locations of other aircraft and traffic advisories.[2] ADS-B, in essence, replaces radar technology with satellites.
Though unanimously passed by the Senate, the bill failed in the House by a 264-133 vote. The bill required the implementation of ADS-B technology in both civilian and miliary aircrafts.[3] By passing the bill, there would no longer be a loophole permitting the Department of Defense to fly aircraft domestically without using ADS-B technology.[4] The bill would further expand oversight of helicopter routes flying near commercial airports and require quarterly reports on compliance.[5]
The bill was drafted in response to the 2025 midair collision over the Potomac River in Washington that killed 67 people, making it the nation’s deadliest aviation accident since November 2001.[6] After a yearlong investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), investigators found neither aircraft was equipped with collision-avoidance technology that provides alerts in low-altitude environments.[7] Had the airplane been equipped with technology that used ADS-B, the crew would have been alerted to the helicopter almost a minute before the collision, as opposed to the nineteen-second warning the pilots had at the time of the crash.[8]
One day before the House vote, Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell released a statement withdrawing support for the bipartisan bill. The Department of War previously supported the Act but wrote that the current bill creates “significant unresolved budgetary burdens and operational risks affecting national defense activities.”[9] Parnell did not specify what the unresolved budgetary risks are, nor the security risks the Act would present. However, Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., stated that requiring aircraft such as fighters and bombers to broadcast their locations would undoubtedly put military personnel at risk.[10]
While there is virtually no resistance to the safety benefits of ADS-B technology, many pilots remain concerned about how the technology could be used beyond safety. Members of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) have voiced concerns about third parties using ADS-B data to track aircraft movements for billing or fee collection.[11] Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., further noted the ROTOR Act would be burdensome to some pilots and described the bill as an “unworkable government mandate.”[12]
Families of those killed in the 2025 midair collision released an official statement urging Congress to pass the ROTOR Act in order to prevent another preventable accident.[13] Co-author of the bill, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, stands firm on support for the bill, stating, “only the ROTOR Act ensures that all airplanes and helicopters flying in U.S. airspace play by the same set of rules.”[14] Parnell, though withdrawing support for the bill that reached the Senate, has stated the Department remains ready to continue conversations with Congress to ensure the legislation achieves its safety goals while balancing national security.[15] The development of the ROTOR Act in the coming months will shape how the nation handles aircraft technology and drive significant advancements in aviation safety.
[1] https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/2503
[3] https://www.fox5dc.com/news/what-is-rotor-act-house-shuts-down-bill-aimed-improving-air-traffic-safety
[5] https://www.fox5dc.com/news/what-is-rotor-act-house-shuts-down-bill-aimed-improving-air-traffic-safety
[6] https://www.ntsb.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/NR20260127.aspx
[9] https://www.war.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/4412189/department-of-war-statement-on-the-rotorcraft-operations-transparency-and-overs/
[10] https://www.npr.org/2026/02/24/nx-s1-5724999/house-rejects-aviation-safety-bill-rotor-act
[11] https://dronelife.com/2026/02/25/rotor-act-blocked-house-alert-act-ads-b/
[12] https://www.npr.org/2026/02/24/nx-s1-5724999/house-rejects-aviation-safety-bill-rotor-act
[13] https://www.commerce.senate.gov/2026/2/families-safety-advocates-air-traffic-controllers-pilots-flight-attendants-airports-regional-airlines-others-push-for-house-passage-of-rotor-act#:~:text=The%20Families%20of%20Flight%205342,carries%20consequences%20measured%20in%20lives.”
[14] https://www.npr.org/2026/02/24/nx-s1-5724999/house-rejects-aviation-safety-bill-rotor-act
[15] https://www.war.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/4412189/department-of-war-statement-on-the-rotorcraft-operations-transparency-and-overs/