In the wake of last year's devastating midair collision near Washington, D.C., federal officials have announced that air traffic controllers will now utilize radar systems, rather than relying solely on visual checks, to ensure helicopters maintain a safe distance from arriving and departing airplanes.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) noted that recent incidents highlight failures in previous guidelines, which instructed pilots to maintain visual separation from one another. This strategy has proven insufficient for ensuring safety around crowded airports.
Under the new regulations, controllers will be mandated to use radar technology to ensure adequate lateral or vertical separation between helicopters and airplanes. This requirement is set to take effect at more than 150 of the busiest airports across the United States, extending existing restrictions previously implemented at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford emphasized, Today, we are proactively mitigating risks before they affect the traveling public. Following the midair collision near DCA, we examined similar operations in the national airspace and recognized an overreliance on pilot 'see and avoid' operations, which significantly contributed to safety events involving helicopters and airplanes.
The announcement accompanied acknowledgments of two alarming near-miss situations. One occurred on February 27, where a police helicopter had to maneuver away to avoid an American Airlines flight landing at San Antonio International Airport. Another incident occurred on March 2, when a helicopter had to divert its path due to an imminent collision with a small aircraft at California’s Hollywood Burbank Airport.
The tragic incident that triggered these new regulations occurred in January 2025, when a collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter resulted in the death of 67 people, marking it as the deadliest aviation accident on U.S. soil since 2001. Investigations revealed that the collision was attributed in part to air traffic controllers’ reliance on pilots spotting aircraft visually.
On that fateful night, the controller had granted the Black Hawk two requests to proceed, but officials determined the helicopter's crew likely did not see the American Airlines jet, which was in the process of landing on a seldom-used runway.
Among those who perished were many young figure skaters along with their parents and coaches, who were returning from a development camp following the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas.
