WASHINGTON — More than a year and a half after American Airlines Flight 5342 and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter collided over the Potomac River, relatives of the 67 people who died are back on Capitol Hill asking lawmakers to turn the lessons from the crash into new aviation safety requirements.
Families gathered in Washington this week to renew their call for congressional action. Among those speaking was Laura Augendre, who lost four members of her family in the crash.
“We cannot change what happened that night,” Augendre said. “But we can, and we must change what happens next.”
The January 29, 2025, collision occurred about a half-mile southeast of Reagan National Airport. The PSA Airlines-operated CRJ700 was flying as American Airlines Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas, to Washington when it collided with the Army helicopter. Sixty passengers and four crew members aboard the passenger aircraft and all three people aboard the helicopter were killed.
The push for new legislation has gained urgency following the National Transportation Safety Board’s final investigation. The NTSB identified failures involving airspace design, safety oversight, risk management, air traffic control procedures and collision-avoidance technology, and issued 50 safety recommendations.
One of the central issues is ADS-B In, a system that allows an aircraft to receive information about nearby traffic. The technology is different from ADS-B Out, which broadcasts an aircraft’s position to the air traffic system.
The NTSB’s investigation found that Flight 5342 was not equipped with ADS-B In. Investigators later simulated how an ADS-B-based alerting system could have performed during the accident. The simulation showed that the airplane crew could have received traffic alerts 59 seconds and 35 seconds before the collision, providing additional information about the helicopter’s location and movement. A similar system available to the helicopter crew could have produced an alert about the airplane roughly 48 seconds before impact.
The findings have become a major part of the debate over whether ADS-B In should become more widely required.
The Senate unanimously passed the ROTOR Act in December 2025. The legislation included requirements aimed at expanding the use of ADS-B In and strengthening aviation safety measures. When the House considered the bill on February 24, 2026, it received 264 votes in favor and 133 against, but it fell short of the two-thirds majority required under the procedure being used.
Congress then moved toward a broader proposal. The House passed the Airspace Location and Enhanced Risk Transparency Act, known as the ALERT Act, on April 14. The measure addresses a wider range of recommendations from the NTSB, including collision-avoidance technology, helicopter routes, air traffic control procedures and coordination involving military aircraft. It was received by the Senate and referred to the Senate Commerce Committee on April 15.
The legislation has not yet become law. In July, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said Congress had made progress but had not completed a final package addressing the board’s recommendations. In September, the issue remained unresolved as families continued pressing lawmakers for action.
The safety debate is not limited to ADS-B technology. The NTSB’s final report also called for changes to helicopter route design, air traffic control practices, safety management and the way agencies share information. Investigators said the accident involved a combination of systemic safety problems rather than a single failure.
For the families, however, the discussion ultimately comes back to the people who never returned home.
Augendre said four members of her family — Peter, Donna, Everly and Olivia — boarded a flight from Kansas before the crash. They were among the 67 people who died that night.
More than 19 months later, families are continuing to ask lawmakers to complete the safety reforms being debated in Washington.
The NTSB has said its recommendations provide a roadmap for reducing the risk of another catastrophic collision. Whether Congress ultimately adopts the proposed measures remains unresolved, but families of the victims say they intend to keep pressing for changes in the aviation system.
