FAA to use radar for helicopter-plane separation at busiest airports

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The Federal Aviation Administration said it will expand radar-based separation rules intended to prevent collisions between helicopters and airplanes as they operate around major airports. Federal officials announced the change on March 18, saying controllers will keep helicopters and airplanes apart using radar rather than relying only on pilots maintaining visual separation.

The FAA said that recent near-misses showed that prior guidance requiring pilots to “see and avoid” has not provided adequate protection for helicopter-plane operations around busy airports. Under the new approach, air traffic controllers must use radar to keep the aircraft separated by specific lateral or vertical distances.

The requirement applies to more than 150 of the nation’s busiest airports, extending a restriction already in place at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Federal officials said the expansion follows the fatal January 2025 midair collision near Washington, D.C., in which an American Airlines jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided, killing 67 people.

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the agency looked at similar helicopter-plane operations nationwide after that collision. “Today, we are proactively mitigating risks before they affect the traveling public,” Bedford said in a news release. “Following the mid-air collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), we looked at similar operations across the national airspace. We identified an overreliance on pilot ‘see and avoid’ operations that contribute to safety events involving helicopters and airplanes.”

Federal investigators tied the deadly crash to controller reliance on visual spotting and separation. The account provided by federal officials said controllers in the Reagan tower approved the Black Hawk’s request to do visual separation twice during the night of the collision, but investigators said the helicopter pilots likely never spotted the American Airlines plane as it circled to land on a secondary runway that had been used less often.

Officials also pointed to two recent near-misses that occurred at different airports. They said a police helicopter had to turn to avoid an American Airlines flight that was landing at San Antonio International Airport in Texas on Feb. 27.

A similar close call, officials said, occurred on March 2 when a helicopter had to turn away from a small aircraft that had been cleared to arrive at California’s Hollywood Burbank Airport. Federal officials said these events reflect continued risk in helicopter-plane traffic patterns, particularly when separation depends heavily on visual acquisition.

The collision in January 2025 is widely described as the deadliest plane crash on U.S. soil since 2001. Officials also said many of those killed were young figure skaters, along with their parents and coaches, after they attended a development camp in Wichita, Kansas, following the U.S. Figure Skating Championships there.