NAAA Supports Bipartisan Low-Altitude Airspace Safety Legislation

NAAA has joined a coalition of aviation organizations in supporting the McCarty and Heideman Air Safety Enhancement Act, bipartisan legislation directing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to review and improve safeguards for temporary obstructions in low-altitude airspace, including slacklines and other hazards strung across the landscape.

Specifically, the legislation calls on the FAA to evaluate current policies and regulations and identify appropriate policy, operational, or technical improvements to better protect aviators operating close to the ground, including potential updates to marking requirements for slacklines.

The legislation follows the tragic Jan. 2, 2026, helicopter accident in Arizona involving a collision with a slackline that claimed the lives of pilot David McCarty and his three nieces, Rachel McCarty, Faith McCarty, and Katelyn Heideman. The bill is named in their honor.

For agricultural aviators and other pilots operating in low-altitude environments, temporary and unmarked obstacles pose unique risks because they often are not charted or visible during preflight planning.

“The National Agricultural Aviation Association firmly endorses the McCarty and Heideman Air Safety Enhancement Act. The requirements this act places on the FAA will help ensure no more aviators operating in the low-altitude airspace lose their lives because of an unmarked slackline or other hazard strung across the landscape,” said Matthew Woolard, president of the National Agricultural Aviation Association.

NAAA joins several aviation organizations in supporting the legislation, including Vertical Aviation International (VAI) and the National Air Transportation Association (NATA).