Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Northridge) reintroduced the Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant Helicopter Safety Act, a bill that would require terrain awareness and warning systems on all helicopters that carry six or more passengers. Opposition from the aviation industry, combined with a Congress overwhelmed with the COVID-19 pandemic and other issues, pushed helicopter safety to the back burner. The NTSB concluded that a terrain awareness warning system could have alerted the pilots to the waters below and avoided the fatal plunge. But in 2014, they did begin to require terrain awareness systems for helicopter air ambulances. In the wake of the Bryant crash, the FAA sought to explain why it chose to extend the TAWS requirement only to helicopter air ambulances.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 26, 2021 01:13 UTC