Airline Workers: Pass ROTOR Act and ‘Prevent Future Tragedies’

Coalition calls for House to approve legislation that would require ADS-B systems for all civilian and military aircraft.

Jack Daleo

Thursday, February 19, 2026 at 03:30 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

A U.S. Army Black Hawk flies over Washington, D.C. [Credit: Nicholas Priest/U.S. Air Force]

Key Takeaways:

A coalition of airline labor groups is urging the U.S. House to pass the Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform (ROTOR) Act to prevent future mid-air collisions, citing a fatal January 2025 incident.
The ROTOR Act mandates integrated ADS-B In and ADS-B Out systems for all civilian and military aircraft, aligning with recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Labor groups and the NTSB chair fear the House might weaken the bill by permitting less effective, non-integrated ADS-B alternatives or military waivers that could jeopardize safety.
Proponents argue that universal, integrated ADS-B technology is crucial for significantly enhancing pilots' situational awareness and providing more time to react to potential collisions, thereby preventing tragedies.

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A coalition of labor groups collectively representing hundreds of thousands of airline workers is urging the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform (ROTOR) Act, which it argues could prevent a repeat of the fatal January 2025 midair collision over the Potomac River.

Six groups—including the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) and Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), which represented pilots and flight attendants who lost their lives in the January accident—wrote in letters to representatives that the incident was “preventable and predictable.” The ROTOR Act would require all civilian and military aircraft to use ADS-B In and ADS-B Out navigation systems, a provision the groups said aligns with recommendations issued by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) this week.