The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Bryan Bedford recently announced a new safety enhancement measure to prevent collisions between helicopters and airplanes.
In a general notice, the FAA suspended the use of visual separation between airplanes and helicopters, instead mandating that air traffic controllers will use radar to manage the aircraft and keep them separated at specific lateral or vertical distances. The upgraded protocol stems from the FAA’s safety review following the crash between a helicopter and a commercial jet over the Potomac River in 2025.
“The tragedy over the Potomac one year ago revealed a startling truth: years of warning signs were missed, and the FAA needed dire reform. Since then, we’ve implemented numerous changes to protect the skies over our capital and keep the traveling public safe,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said. “But the job isn’t done. 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.”
In the wake of the crash, the FAA’s safety team reviewed cross-traffic data and reviewed incident reports to look into safety standards. The team’s review found that for high-traffic areas, visual separation was not enough of a safety mitigation tool. The GENOT suspends visual separation in Class B and Class C airspace, and Terminal Radar Service Areas (TRSA). New guidelines require that where helicopters cross airport arrival or departure paths, air traffic controllers will use radar to keep the aircraft specific lateral or vertical distances apart.
“Today, we are proactively mitigating risks before they affect the traveling public,” Bedford said. “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.”