TOPEKA — U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids of Kansas endorsed federal legislation mandating upgrades to civilian and military collision-avoidance technology, changes to helicopter flight routes and improvement to air traffic control training inspired by a 2025 midair collision that killed 67 people.

The crash of a U.S. Army helicopter and an American Airlines commercial jet that had departed Wichita occurred over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.

Davids, a Democrat and original cosponsor of the ALERT Act with U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Missouri, said the legislation was drawn from recommendations of the National Transportation Safety Board. The NTSB’s report focused on airspace congestion, communication failures, outdated collision-avoidance systems and insufficient coordination between civilian and military aircraft.

The NTSB said the preventable accident Jan. 29, 2025, resulted from a series of errors. NTSB said there was overreliance on military pilots visually looking out for other aircraft without consideration weaknesses of this see-and-avoid concept. Air traffic controllers’ “degraded performance” factored in the crash, NTSB said.

The report said the Federal Aviation Administration placed a military helicopter route in close proximity to the runway under intense usage by commercial jets. It noted the FAA’s failure to act on recommendations to mitigate potential of midair collisions was a “probable” cause of the accident.

“It takes a commonsense, bipartisan approach to protecting everyone in our skies,” Davids said Friday. “This legislation has real momentum because it focuses on safety over politics. By modernizing systems and strengthening training, we can prevent tragedies before they happen.”

Davids, who represents the 3rd District in the Kansas City area, said she met in Wichita with families who lost loved ones in the crash. She said they deserved action from the federal government.

“This bill is about honoring lives lost and taking concrete steps to protect everyone in our skies,” she said.

Under the House legislation, the FAA would be directed to implement improvements to collision-avoidance technology on commercial aircraft. A timeline would be established for deploying updated systems offering earlier and clearer warnings to pilots.

The FAA would assess safe arrival and departure rates at congested airports and review aircraft spacing requirements in complex airspace environments.

The bill would address air traffic controller training by establishing working groups to modernize standards, improving risk assessment tools to help controllers identify real-time hazards and requiring transparency if safety recommendations weren’t adopted.

The U.S. Department of Defense and the FAA would be directed to be more closely coordinate deployment of collision-avoidance technology.

In December, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bill — the ROTOR Act — sponsored by U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas. It is awaiting action by the House.

In a Senate committee last week, Moran asked NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy about the FAA’s lack of a common definition for near misses, circumstances that kept safety concerns of air traffic controllers from being relayed to FAA leadership and whether improved aviation safety standards had been implemented since the 2025 crash.

He said passage of the ROTOR Act would have saved lives lost in the 2025 crash in Washington, D.C.

“It’s our responsibility – our responsibility in this committee and as members of the United States Senate – to turn the conclusions of the NTSB report into action,” Moran said. “Congress must determine what steps we need to take following those recommendations, and we need to make sure that the FAA, the Army and all others are following those recommended and enacted safety measures.”