To support families and improve accountability, the Flight 293 Remembrance Act directs the Department of Defense to identify and document non-combat military plane crashes categorized as 'Operational Loss/Non-War Loss' and to build a publicly accessible database with names, ranks, and service details, starting from calendar year 1984. For crashes before 1984, the bill allows use of information from other organizations.
It also requires DoD, working with the Department of Veterans Affairs, to provide comprehensive assistance to affected families—covering benefits navigation, financial support, counseling, survivor benefits, and connection to community networks. In addition, the Act designates a point of contact within DoD to guide families, provides for ongoing consultations with relevant organizations, and requires a report to Congress within two years detailing progress, database coverage, and recommendations.
The nondiscrimination provisions ensure access to these services under federal civil rights laws.
At a Glance
What It Does
DoD must identify and document crashes labeled as 'Operational Loss/Non-War Loss' dating back to 1984 and create a publicly accessible database listing names, ranks, and service details. It also mandates family assistance, a designated points of contact, consultations, and a two-year congressional report.
Who It Affects
Families of service members who died in non-combat crashes; DoD and VA staff implementing benefits and coordination; researchers, historians, and the public who will access the database.
Why It Matters
It closes gaps in historical casualty data, improves family support pathways, and creates a transparent resource for accountability and research.
More articles like this one.
A weekly email with all the latest developments on this topic.
What This Bill Actually Does
The Flight 293 Remembrance Act establishes a program to honor and support service members who die in non-combat military plane crashes. It begins by building a comprehensive, publicly accessible database that lists the names, ranks, and service details of those casualties, starting with crashes in 1984.
For crashes earlier than 1984, the bill allows using information from other organizations to fill gaps.
Next, the act tasks the Department of Defense, in coordination with the Department of Veterans Affairs, with providing families of the fallen with concrete support. This includes guidance on navigating benefits, access to financial assistance, counseling services, and survivor benefits tailored to non-combat losses.
The bill also requires a designated DoD point of contact to manage the benefits process, keep families updated on new programs and changes in eligibility, and liaise with other agencies and community groups to ensure coordinated, streamlined assistance. The act calls for regular consultations with knowledgeable organizations and requires a report to Congress within two years.
That report should detail how many families are receiving support, how complete the database is, and any recommendations to improve the effort. Importantly, the assistance programs are treated as education- and civil-rights–compliant activities to ensure nondiscrimination protections are applied to all beneficiaries.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The bill requires DoD to identify and document all relevant non-combat crash deaths dating back to 1984.
A publicly accessible database of names, ranks, and service details must be maintained.
Families receive tailored support, including benefits navigation, financial assistance, and counseling.
A designated DoD point of contact will guide families and provide program updates.
A two-year congressional report will assess progress, coverage, and recommended improvements.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
Every bill we cover gets an analysis of its key sections.
Short title
Section 1 designates the act as the Flight 293 Remembrance Act and sets its scope and purpose for memorialization and family support related to non-combat military plane crashes.
Program to support families of members who died in non-combat crashes
Section 2 requires the DoD, with input from the VA, to identify and document crashes categorized as 'Operational Loss/Non-War Loss' dating back to 1984, and to develop a publicly accessible database with names, ranks, and service details. It also obligates the department to provide families with assistance navigating benefits, designate a point of contact within DoD, conduct consultations with relevant organizations, and report back to Congress within two years with progress, coverage, and recommendations. The nondiscrimination provisions apply to all assistance programs and enforcement is carried out by the DoD and VA.
This bill is one of many.
Codify tracks hundreds of bills on Defense across all five countries.
Explore Defense in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Families of service members who died in non-combat crashes gain direct access to tailored benefits, counseling, and survivor resources.
- DoD and the Department of Veterans Affairs gain a standardized process and a designated point of contact to manage casualty support.
- Researchers, historians, and the public benefit from a transparent, publicly accessible database of casualty information.
- Support networks and community organizations gain formal channels to connect families with peers and resources.
- Military personnel offices gain a centralized data source to streamline casualty coordination and benefits outreach.
Who Bears the Cost
- DoD bears initial and ongoing costs to identify crashes, build and maintain the database, and staff the designated point of contact.
- VA bears costs to coordinate benefits and deliver survivor services.
- Other agencies may incur coordination and administrative costs in supporting the program.
- Regulatory and compliance costs may arise from nondiscrimination enforcement and related program updates.
- External partners or contractors assisting with data collection and family outreach could incur implementation costs.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
Balancing the public good of a transparent, comprehensive database and survivor-support program against privacy, data quality, and resource constraints in the DoD/VA ecosystem.
The bill’s public database design raises privacy and accuracy questions. While transparency honors fallen members and aids families and researchers, it also requires careful data governance to avoid misidentification or outdated records, especially for older crashes where records are sparse.
The act does not specify funding, so implementation relies on existing budgets; this could affect the scale and speed of database development and family outreach. Finally, the requirement to catalog crashes from 1984 onward depends on cross-agency data sharing, which may face bureaucratic hurdles or data compatibility issues.
Try it yourself.
Ask a question in plain English, or pick a topic below. Results in seconds.