Air site visitors controllers will now use radar to actively monitor helicopters when flying by way of the flight paths of planes taking off and touchdown at busy airports, the Federal Aviation Administration mentioned in an order printed Wednesday.
Chopper pilots had been allowed to take accountability for visible separation with different plane in these areas – a course of referred to as “see and avoid” – however a sequence of current issues drew scrutiny to the follow.
On January 29, 2025, a US Army Blackhawk helicopter struck an American Airlines regional jet touchdown at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after the pilot reported they’d the passenger airplane in sight. Sixty-seven folks have been killed when the plane collided over the Potomac River.
The National Transportation Safety Board discovered FAA had uncooked information exhibiting there have been greater than 15,000 close calls on the airport between October 2021 and December 2024, however the data was not analyzed till after the crash.
Then, the FAA turned to AI instruments to consider airports throughout the nation the place helicopter and airplanes usually fly collectively to search for issues and implement fixes.
“Using innovative data analysis, the safety team at the FAA has identified the need for enhanced protocols at all airports across the National Airspace System,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy mentioned in a information launch.
The FAA in its announcement Wednesday, cited current examples of close calls, together with on February 27, when American Airlines flight 1657 from Charlotte to San Antiono was making ready to land and a police helicopter flew into its last strategy path. The helicopter finally turned to keep away from the Airbus A320.
Another helicopter was on a converging course with a twin engine Beechcraft 99 on March 2 at Hollywood Burbank Airport in California when it had to flip to keep away from the non-public airplane.
The FAA famous there could also be some delays for helicopters within the new course of. Urgent medical or legislation enforcement missions should still be allowed to proceed instantly, however with planes stopped from touchdown or taking off to give them precedence clearance.