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The Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation, Space, and Innovation had a hearing on Tuesday over using ADS-B to charge fees to pilots.
The hearing focused on the Senate-passed Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform (ROTOR) Act, and the House-passed Airspace Location and Enhanced Risk Transparency (ALERT) Act. Both were made in response to the midair collision between an American Airlines Bombardier CRJ 700 and a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk Army helicopter at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in Jan. 2025 that killed 67 people. The ROTOR Act was introduced by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-TX) and the ALERT Act was introduced by Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO).
The ROTOR Act would require all aircraft to use both ADS-B In and ADS-B Out technology while in controlled airspace by 2031. The bill states that the requirement will better communicate the location of aircraft compared to radar tracking. Currently, there is a loophole that allows Department of Defense aircraft to fly domestically without using ADS-B Out technology, which the ROTOR Act will close. The bill would also enhance oversight of helicopter routes near commercial service airports and would require quarterly reports on ADS-B Out compliance.
Under the ALERT Act, the DOD and the DOT would be required to enter an agreement over the use of collision prevention technologies on DOD aircraft. It must have DOD helicopters use ADS-B Out as the default practice while operating in U.S. Airspace. The department would have to work with DOT to conduct a safety risk assessment and implement appropriate precautions when its helicopters are carrying out special missions in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area and are exempt from ADS-B Out requirements. All DOD aircraft must be equipped with and operating integrated ADS-B In technology by Dec. 31, 2031, unless it is a specific special mission aircraft.
Supporters of ROTOR claim that ALERT allows for too many exceptions to ADS-B, which is what caused the crash in the first place. The NTSB says many of the measures in ALERT fall short of addressing its concerns. Supporters of ALERT argue that the requirement for ADS-B would be a burden on general aviation.
During the hearing, Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) asked FAA administrator Bryan Bedford if ADS-B was intended to be a fee-collecting, tax-collecting device. Bedford stated that it was meant to be a safety and situational awareness tool and that the FAA was against using ADS-B for revenue collection at airports.
"We frown on the concept of using ADS-B information for revenue collection at airports, and if we need to step up that in terms of how aggressively we dissuade that, we will," said Bedford.
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Sheeny then pointed out that the practice of charging through ADS-B has encouraged pilots and organizations to find any excuse they can to not turn it on. Sheehy is an active general aviation pilot and an original cosponsor of the Pilot and Aircraft Privacy Act (PAPA), which would prohibit using ADS-B for fee collection. ALERT includes key provisions from PAPA (section 105).
"Senator Sheehy is spot on with his observations regarding the misuse of an aircraft collision avoidance technology to collect taxes and fees. AOPA also applauds Administrator Bedford's agreement on this issue, especially as the House and Senate work out differences between these important aviation safety bills," said Jim Coon, AOPA senior VP of government affairs and advocacy. "There is strong support for putting an end to this practice, including National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy, who commented at an earlier Senate Commerce Committee hearing that the use of ADS-B for economic gain ‘should be prohibited."
Multiple states have considered introducing laws to ban ADS-B fees. Florida has already implemented a ban on the practice, while the Louisiana State Senate is expected to vote on HB 730, which would do the same.