Rep. Garamendi on Committee Passage of ALERT Act Amendment

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congressman John Garamendi (CA-08), a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, issued the following statement in response to the Committee's passage of the Airspace Location and Enhanced Risk Transparency(ALERT) Actto improve aviation safety after the deadly collision at Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA) last year. Additionally, the final bill includes one of Rep. Garamendi's amendments to prevent these types of accidents from happening again.

Rep. Garamendi's amendmentwould permanently close Helicopter Route 4 between Hains Point and the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge in the District of Columbia. This route, located too close to active runway operations, should have never been in use. While no single event is to blame for the tragedy on January 29th, the permanent closure of Route 4 will significantly reduce risk in the highly sensitive, heavily trafficked air space around Washington, D.C.

"Though no bill or regulation could ever account for the loss of 67 lives, we owe it to the victims, to the families who lost loved ones in this tragedy, and to the traveling public to implement every measure we can to improve aviation safety.

"That's why I'm proud we passed the ALERT Act today with my amendment permanently closing Helicopter Route 4. This bipartisan comprehensive legislation strengthens aviation safety and keeps fliers, military personnel, and civilians on the ground safe."

Background

On January 29, 2025, a military helicopter was operating on Route 4 in the congested, mixed-traffic airspace over Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA) when it tragically collided with American Airlines Flight 5342, killing 67 people in a horrific loss of life.

The ALERT Act considers all of the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) findings of probable cause that contributed to the accident and responds to each of the NTSB's 50 safety recommendations to provide a thorough legislative solution to improve U.S. aviation safety. Critical safety issues the bill addresses include:

• Establishing requirements for equipping collision mitigation, avoidance, and alerting technologies and systems for civil fixed-wing and rotorcraft;

• Improving helicopter route design, guidance, and separation;

• Preventing loss of separation (near-miss) incidents;

• Addressing deficiencies in the FAA's safety culture;

• Enhancing air traffic control training and procedures, particularly during high traffic;

• Strengthening the safety of the DCA airspace - one of the nation's busiest and most congested airspaces;

• Repealing section 373(a) of the last National Defense Authorization Act; and more.

You can find the ALERT Act text HERE and Garamendi's amendment HERE.

###