Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas and chairman of a panel that oversees aviation safety, has crafted new legislation intended to prevent accidents like the midair collision near Ronald Reagan National Airport in January that killed 67 people, just as a series of hearings into the cause of the crash is about to begin.
The bill has already racked up some high-profile endorsements, including from the leaders of the Transportation Department and the Federal Aviation Administration. It also has the support of Jennifer Homendy, the chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, which plans to hold three days of hearings this week to examine the factors that led to the deadly collision of an American Airlines airplane and an Army Blackhawk helicopter over the Potomac River.
Mr. Cruz’s legislation, according to a copy obtained by The New York Times, would order the F.A.A. to require that nearly all government aircraft engaged in safety evaluation flights or training missions in congested airspace turn on technology that allows air traffic controllers to track them in real time. The provision would narrow an existing exemption that allows aircraft engaged in “sensitive government missions” to turn off the technology.
The military helicopter involved in the Jan. 29 crash was being flown that night as part of an annual pilot evaluation, and had that technology, known as ADS-B Out, turned off.
The legislation also directs the F.A.A. to require that all new aircraft be equipped with another system, known as ADS-B In, which gives pilots information from other aircraft, as well as ground traffic and weather information in real time. The N.T.S.B. has recommended for more than two decades that ADS-B In be required in aircraft.
Ms. Homendy told reporters on Capitol Hill on Tuesday that the legislation “will save lives,” while Mr. Cruz told reporters that the changes were aimed at eradicating what he called a “double standard in aviation safety.”
“We should not tolerate special exceptions for military training flights operating in congested airspace. No matter the circumstances, any aircraft operating near commercial traffic must fully adhere to safety standards,” he said. He added, “We cannot have commercial airplanes and helicopters on a collision course ever again.”
But Mr. Cruz’s legislation has yet to receive the backing of any Democrats, some of whom are concerned that the bill stops short of imposing safety requirements stringent enough to fully address the problems it purports to solve.
The bill is not the first introduced that attempts to mandate that more aircraft use real-time tracking technology around busy airports. In May, Senator Jerry Moran, Republican of Kansas and the chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation’s aviation subcommittee, filed legislation requiring the use of real-time tracking technology for all aircraft operating around the nation’s busiest airports. (Mr. Moran has endorsed Mr. Cruz’s bill.)
Last month, a group of Senate Democrats, led by Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington, the top Democrat on the Commerce, Science and Transportation panel, introduced legislation that would require comprehensive use of the same tracking technology. Those provisions were part of a broader bill that also sought to accelerate air traffic controller training, freeze F.A.A. staff cuts, and order the F.A.A. and Army to complete a memorandum of understanding to avoid future accidents.
Ms. Cantwell said on Tuesday she was “committed to working with Chairman Cruz to ensure we get this right and honor the memory of those we lost.”
But according to two people familiar with deliberations, she and other Democrats have privately expressed reservations about the way Mr. Cruz’s bill lays out new safety requirements — and the length of time it gives the F.A.A. to implement the proposed changes.
Under Mr. Cruz’s bill, the head of the F.A.A. — a position newly occupied by Bryan Bedford, a longtime airline executive — has two years to issue regulations that would require airlines to install the real-time tracking technology on all new manned aircraft within the following three years, with the right to issue certain two-year extensions.
Ms. Cantwell’s bill demands a tighter timeline: installation on new aircraft within four years, regardless of whether the F.A.A. has issued new rules, and retrofitting of existing aircraft within the same period.
In addition to the technology mandates, Mr. Cruz’s legislation would require the Army’s inspector general to begin an audit of its pilot training and qualification standards, and regulations governing the use of the technology that allows air traffic controllers to track aircraft in real time. It would also instruct the F.A.A. to study whether more of the airspace around Reagan National ought to be permanently closed to helicopter traffic, and scrutinize whether current flight routes around commercial airports guarantee enough separation between fixed-wing aircraft and those with rotors.
Sean Duffy, the transportation secretary, called the bill “the right approach,” though he allowed that his department might want to see “a few tweaks” to the details.
He signaled to lawmakers that they should not balk at the potential cost of implementing the new requirements.
“I don’t think we should be concerned about cost when it comes to safety,” he said.
Karoun Demirjian is a breaking news reporter for The Times.
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