Pentagon to build database of non-combat plane crash victims, support families
S. 411 — Flight 293 Remembrance Act · Filed by Patty Murray (D-WA) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Feb 5, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill directs the Department of Defense to create a searchable database of military personnel who died in non-combat plane crashes (going back to 1984) and to establish a dedicated support program for their families. The program includes a single point of contact to help families navigate benefits, connect with peer support networks, and receive counseling and financial assistance. The bill requires a progress report to Congress within two years.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is to create transparency (a public database) and improve family support services for a specific, historically underserved population. It is a straightforward public-interest measure with no private carve-outs or deregulatory mechanisms.
What the text implies
- The bill's nondiscrimination provisions (subsection f) treat DoD/VA family-support programs as 'education programs' for civil-rights enforcement purposes, which may expand the scope of Title IX, Section 504, and Title VI compliance obligations beyond typical military-family-services interpretation.
- The database will be 'publicly accessible,' which means names and service details of deceased service members will be permanently searchable online—a transparency benefit for families and researchers, but also a permanent public record of individual deaths.
- The designated point of contact may become a de facto ombudsman role, potentially creating expectations for DoD to resolve systemic benefits-access problems that may require legislative or budgetary changes beyond the bill's scope.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Military families who lost members in non-combat plane crashes gain a centralized, transparent database of victims, dedicated support navigation, and coordinated access to existing benefits. The bill imposes no restrictions on citizens' rights or remedies; it only expands government accountability and family support infrastructure.
Named in the bill
Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Republicans.
- Feb 5, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Feb 5, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Armed Services · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (4,604 characters) on Sep 21, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,522 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-09-21.
“Pentagon to build database of non-combat plane crash victims, support families” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/s411 Report an error