Cogressman Yakym supports ALERT Act in key aviation safety markup

 Thursday, Congressman Rudy Yakym (IN-02) participated in a Transportation and Infrastructure Committee markup, temporarily filling the seat of the late Representative Doug LaMalfa (R-CA-01), who passed away tragically in January. Rep. Yakym previously served on this committee during the last Congress.

The markup saw the unanimous passage of H.R. 7613, the Airspace Location and Enhanced Risk Transparency (ALERT) Act of 2026. The legislation was drafted in accordance with the safety recommendations of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) following the tragic 2025 midair collision between American Airlines Flight 5342 and a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).

"We have an obligation to ensure the safety of air travel and to do everything in our power to prevent tragedies like the one we witnessed last year at DCA," Rep. Yakym said. "The ALERT Act directly addresses all 50 safety recommendations issued by the NTSB and offers a clear legislative path toward strengthening U.S. aviation safety for Hoosiers and all Americans. I was proud to vote in favor of this bill, and my prayers continue to be with the families who lost loved ones, including Hoosier Asra Hussein-Raza, who was on board Flight 5342."

Background:

The Airspace Location and Enhanced Risk Transparency (ALERT) Act of 2026 addresses all 50 safety related recommendations issued by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which concluded its thorough investigation and issued its final report on February 17, 2026.

The ALERT Act considers all of the NTSB’s findings of probable cause that contributed to the accident and responds to each of the NTSB’s 50 safety recommendations to provide a thorough and holistic 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.

Read full bill text HERE.

Find a section-by-section HERE.