Senate Passes Aviation Safety Bill Aiming to Prevent Further Midair Collisions

The Senate on Dec. 17 passed Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) bill that creates new safety requirements for nearly all aircraft and helicopters, while also stripping a provision out of the recently passed defense bill that several lawmakers say created a dangerous loophole for military helicopters. Cruz’s ROTOR Act passed on Wednesday afternoon by unanimous consent, a fast-track mechanism that bypasses a formal vote if no lawmaker stands up to contest it. The bill requires virtually all aircraft and helicopters to utilize ADS-B Out and In technology, which transmits the vehicle’s GPS location, altitude, ground speed, and other information to ground controllers and other aircraft every second....