Congress is closing in on a compromise that would require most aircraft to install collision-avoidance receivers while exempting some smaller planes, according to a new aviation policy newsletter from Reason Foundation published June 15, 2026. The debate centers on ADS-B/In technology—a receiving device that allows pilots to see other aircraft on cockpit displays—which safety investigators say could have prevented the January 2025 collision between a regional jet and an Army helicopter at Reagan National Airport. The Senate's ROTOR Act would require the technology on all aircraft already equipped with the transmitting device, while the House's ALERT Act takes a narrower approach, mandating it only for larger turbine-powered aircraft and exempting some airspace.
The National Transportation Safety Board noted in its crash report that if the Army helicopter had flown with its ADS-B/Out transmitter turned on, its flight path would have appeared on Reagan National's control tower displays. If the regional jet had been equipped with ADS-B/In to receive those signals, the newsletter reports, the deadly collision could have been avoided. Large commercial airlines are already upgrading their cockpits with the technology, but regional airlines and low-cost carriers are resisting the cost of adding both the receiving equipment and built-in cockpit displays. The House bill includes what critics call "weasel words" requiring some aircraft to merely be "capable of" having ADS-B/In rather than actually installing it. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford has pointed out that his agency can't impose costly new regulations without congressional approval, making a House-Senate compromise essential for implementing safety benefits that NTSB has been calling for since 2008.
The Regional Airlines Association has proposed what the newsletter calls "a realistic compromise for smaller airliners"—require the receiving technology but allow cockpit crews to use their existing "electronic flight bag" gear, such as tablets, instead of expensive built-in hardwired display screens. FAA Administrator Bedford is supportive of this approach, which could break the deadlock between the two chambers. The House's ALERT Act already includes all turbine-powered aircraft, meaning business jets would be covered under any final legislation.
The tablet compromise reflects the practical realities facing smaller carriers. According to the newsletter, the Association of Value Airlines is resisting the cost burden of adding both the ADS-B/In equipment and a built-in cockpit display. By allowing pilots to use tablets they already carry—their electronic flight bags—the compromise would deliver the safety benefits without forcing regional airlines to retrofit cockpits with expensive permanent screens. The approach recognizes that modern portable devices can display the same collision-avoidance information as built-in systems, just without the hardwiring costs. For business jets and other smaller planes, the newsletter notes that aviation equipment companies may develop "affordable" retrofit packages including display screens, though no such solutions exist yet.
The newsletter suggests aviation needs this workable compromise along the lines of what the Regional Airlines Association proposed. With Senate passage of the ROTOR Act already unanimous and the House moving forward with ALERT, reconciling the two bills will determine whether the long-sought safety improvement finally becomes reality—and whether tablets in the cockpit become the practical path forward for smaller operators.