Senators Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell, who serve as the Chairman and Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, held a joint press conference in Washington, D.C. with families affected by the January midair collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The event was organized to urge Congress to remove Section 373 from the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). According to the senators, this provision would expand an existing loophole that allows military helicopters to operate in DC airspace without broadcasting their location.
Last week, Senators Cruz and Cantwell were joined by several colleagues—including Senators Duckworth, Moran, Klobuchar, Blackburn, Warnock, and Warner—in filing amendments to the NDAA. Their proposal seeks to eliminate Section 373 and replace it with the bipartisan ROTOR Act. This act is intended to close current gaps in regulation by requiring all aircraft operating around DC airspace to transmit precise location data.
At the press conference Sen. Cruz stated: “Nearly one year after that tragic midair collision over the Potomac River on January 29th, we are here to bring attention to a provision in the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act that unwinds the actions taken by President Trump and Secretary Duffy to make the airspace around DC safer. Section 373 of the NDAA lets the military fly by different rules than every other aircraft in civilian airspace.” He continued: “In addition to stripping this language, Congress should enact the bipartisan ROTOR Act, which Senator Cantwell and I authored. Our bill, which we’re working to tee up for a vote, would require precise location transmissions for all aircraft operating around DC airspace.”
Senator Cantwell added: “As Senator Cruz mentioned, Section 373 of the NDAA doesn't belong in any bill. There's no reason to have this language in the National Defense Authorization Act unless you're somebody who wants to continue to see letting the military do whatever they want to do in a congested airspace. As Senator Cruz mentioned, passing the ROTOR ACT is our real goal, a reform to the system that would assure that an accident like this would never happen again.”
Laura Augendre represented families of Flight 5342 victims at the press conference and said: “Immediately after the collision safety measures were finally put into place, measures that should have been there before our loved ones were lost. Rolling those back now does not move us forward. It puts people at risk. Now is time to build on that progress not to reverse it. There's already a bipartisan solution ready, the Rotor Act presented by Senators Cruz and Cantwell. We're asking that Section 373 of the NDAA be struck and replaced with the ROTOR Act so that safety is strengthened, not weakened. We're not here to make political statements.”
Tim and Sheri Lilley—whose son Sam was First Officer of Flight 5342—also spoke at length about their opposition: “We oppose this provision in the strongest possible terms. If it can't be changed before passage, we strongly urge Congress to update the language in Section 373 of FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act as soon as possible. Our collective standards must be higher. All users of our national airspace deserve better.”
Following last January’s midair collision between American Airlines Flight 5342 and a Black Hawk military helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Sen. Cruz introduced legislation aimed at improving aviation safety through more stringent requirements for aircraft tracking technology for all operators within restricted airspaces such as Washington D.C.'s region.
The Commerce Committee unanimously approved this measure—the ROTOR Act—in October before reporting it out for consideration on the Senate floor.
