NTSB Chairwoman writes letter urging Congress to pass aviation safety legislation – KWCH

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – The Chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board is once again urging lawmakers in Congress to pass aviation safety legislation.
It has been nearly 16 months since the mid-air collision involving Flight 5342 and an Army helicopter, but significant safety reform has still not become law.
In a letter to ranking members in the House and Senate, chairwoman Jennifer Homendy states, “Every day, every minute, that passes without implementation of all 50 NTSB recommendations represents a continued and unacceptable risk to public safety.”
Attempts have been made in both the House and Senate to pass air safety legislation.
Last December, the Senate unanimously passed the ROTOR Act which aimed to require all aircraft flying around busy airports to have key locator systems turned on to prevent a similar tragedy.
However, the ROTOR Act did not pass in the House, narrowly missing out on the two-thirds support needed.
Shortly after the failed vote and after the NTSB laid out their findings in their investigation into the crash including safety recommendations, the House introduced their own aviation safety bill known as the ALERT Act.
The NTSB did not initially support the ALERT Act as it was first presented, but now says the amendments made to the bill addresses all 50 safety recommendations that the agency adopted.
The House passed the ALERT Act and it now awaits a decision in the Senate.
“While the underlying approach of each bill is different, both bills fundamentally have strong merit and would vastly improve aviation safety,” said Homendy in the letter. “Without additional action though, neither can become law, and it would be yet another tragedy to allow that to happen.”
Homendy says Congress has never advanced all of NTSB’s recommendations following a tragedy before. She is urging both chambers to work together to resolve the differences in their approaches and move forward with a bill.
“We owe it to the families of those who lost their lives, and to the flying public at large, to ensure that a tragedy such as the DCA midair collision never occurs again,” said Homendy.
The Families of Flight 5342 are asking others to sign a letter in support that will be sent out to lawmakers, asking to take meaningful action by August that will send a bill to the President’s desk.
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