Congress Trips Over ADS-B In, Nickname: Plane Safety's Nearly Invisible Cloak
KEY POINTS
- ā¢The ROTOR Act, mandating ADS-B In cockpit monitors, failed in the House by one vote in early 2026 despite broad Senate and pilot support.
- ā¢Opposition cited costs around $50,000 per plane and security concerns about broadcasting military flights in civilian airspace, leading to a watered-down GOP alternative.
- ā¢The National Transportation Safety Board criticized the new bill, warning it would not prevent accidents as effectively as the original act did.
In a plot twist worthy of a soap opera with winglets, the ROTOR Act, designed to slap ADS-B In monitors into cockpits for a pricey $50k a plane retrofit, died in Congress by one sad vote in early 2026. Despite bipartisan Senate love, pilot unions, victim families, and NTSB advocates chanting for cockpit cockpit visibility (no, not binoculars), House Republicans split, citing 'cost and mystery security risks' like broadcasting planesā coordinates might invite hackers or jealous exes. Meanwhile, Republicans pushed the $ignificantly watered-down ALERT Act, letting military jets sneak through invisibly while blaming budget crises in 2031, probably predicted by Nostradamus' pilot cousin. NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy was none too pleased, calling the new bill 'watered down,' like forgetting salt in the safety stew. If ADS-B In had glued American Airlines pilotsā eyes to those monitors in the 2025 DC collision, theyād have had 59 seconds instead of 19 to dodge disasterājust enough to maybe tap their brakes. But alas, we're busy letting watchful air traffic controllers, stretched thinner than bargain sushi, figure it all out.
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Congress took one vote shy of airplane common sense, deciding pilots should keep flying blindfolded rather than equip cockpits with basic collision monitors. Letās all just trust overstressed humans and military secrecy instead.
Nothing says 'safety first' like letting crowded DC airspace fly blind while lawmakers bicker over pricey cockpit screens like they're deluxe ice cream toppings.
ADS-B In wouldāve been cockpit common sense since 2008, but Congress skipped that memo to protect the wallets and secrets of invisible military jets.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 2/27/2026 | Author: Taylor Rains
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