US FAA tightens helicopter safety rules near major airports

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, March 18 (Reuters) – The Federal Aviation Administration is tightening helicopter safety rules and will suspend use of visual separation between airplanes and helicopters near major airports, it said on Wednesday.

The announcement follows the January 2025 mid-air collision between an American Airlines regional jet and army helicopter that killed 67 people. The FAA cited two recent incidents in issuing the new rules including a near miss involving an American Airlines flight and police helicopter near the San Antonio airport.

The helicopter and aircraft were on converging courses when the helicopter made a left turn to avoid the American Airlines flight, the FAA said.

American Airlines did not immediately comment.

On March 2, a Beechcraft 99 was cleared to land at Burbank Airport in southern California as a helicopter was flying through the final approach path. The aircraft were on converging courses when the helicopter turned to avoid the Beechcraft.

The new requirement suspends visual separation in key airspace near airports.

“Where helicopters cross airport arrival or departure paths, air traffic controllers will use radar to keep the aircraft specific lateral or vertical distances apart,” the FAA said.

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said a year-long review revealed that for high-traffic areas, visual separation was not enough of a safety tool. 

“We identified an overreliance on pilot ‘see and avoid’ operations that contribute to safety events involving helicopters and airplanes,” Bedford said.

After the 2025 collision, the FAA restricted helicopter traffic around Reagan Washington National Airport and has imposed restrictions at other airports including Baltimore, Las Vegas and Washington Dulles.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)