Aviation safety bill based on deadly midair collision near Washington faces a House vote

UNDATED-AP- An aviation safety bill seeking to address lessons learned from last year’s midair collision of a jet and an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C., is up for a vote Tuesday. But the families of the 67 victims and key senators think the bill still needs to be strengthened. The National Transportation Safety Board said last month that the bill now addresses its key recommendation to require all aircraft flying around busy airports to have crucial locator systems that let pilots know more precisely where other aircraft are flying around them. NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy has said such a system could have prevented the collision of the American Airlines jet and the Black Hawk helicopter.