A leading aviation attorney is warning that Congress’ failure to advance the proposed ROTOR Act — legislation aimed at preventing mid-air collisions — leaves millions of airline passengers vulnerable to another tragedy like the deadly 2025 crash near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
The Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform (ROTOR) Act was introduced following the January 29, 2025 collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter over Washington, D.C., which killed 67 people. According to a recent report by the National Transportation Safety Board, investigators cited heavy air traffic congestion and gaps in training and safety systems as contributing factors in the crash.
The proposed legislation would have required all aircraft operating in shared airspace — including military aircraft near commercial flight paths — to carry advanced tracking technology designed to allow real-time aircraft-to-aircraft communication and dramatically reduce the risk of mid-air collisions.
Although the U.S. Senate passed the bill in December 2025, the measure stalled after the Pentagon withdrew its support on February 23, 2026, citing budgetary concerns and operational security risks. The following day, the House of Representatives failed to reach the two-thirds majority needed to move the bill forward.
All four members of the Long Island Congressional delegation — Nick LaLota (R-Rocky Point), Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport), Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) and Laura Gillen (D-Garden City) — voted in favor of the bill.
Keith Williams, founder of The Nashville, Tennessee-based Keith Williams Law Group, says the decision sends a troubling message about aviation safety priorities.
“This was a targeted, technology-driven solution to a known safety gap,” Williams said. “When 67 people lose their lives in a preventable mid-air collision in some of the most tightly controlled airspace in the country, the response should be swift and decisive. Instead, lawmakers have chosen inaction.”
Williams argues that modern tracking and communication systems are already widely used in commercial aviation and could be implemented without compromising national security.
“The question now is whether we wait for another catastrophic collision before acting,” he said. “Passengers assume that when they board a flight, every reasonable step has been taken to protect them. Right now, Congress has left a critical vulnerability unaddressed.”
Aviation safety advocates warn that shared civilian-military airspace exists near major metropolitan airports across the country, increasing the potential for similar incidents if technological safeguards are not strengthened.