AI probe of aviation close calls leads FAA to limit how helicopters can fly around busy airports

By Aaron Cooper, Alexandra Skores, CNN

(CNN) — Air traffic controllers will now use radar to actively track helicopters when flying through the flight paths of planes taking off and landing at busy airports, the Federal Aviation Administration said in an order published Wednesday.

Chopper pilots had been allowed to take responsibility for visual separation with other aircraft in these areas – a process called “see and avoid” – but a series of recent problems drew scrutiny to the practice.

On January 29, 2025, a US Army Blackhawk helicopter struck an American Airlines regional jet landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after the pilot reported they had the passenger plane in sight. Sixty-seven people were killed when the aircraft collided over the Potomac River.

The National Transportation Safety Board found FAA had raw data showing there were more than 15,000 close calls at the airport between October 2021 and December 2024, but the information was not analyzed until after the crash.

Then, the FAA turned to AI tools to evaluate airports across the country where helicopter and airplanes often fly together to look for problems 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 said in a news release.

The FAA in its announcement Wednesday, cited recent examples of close calls, including on February 27, when American Airlines flight 1657 from Charlotte to San Antiono was preparing to land and a police helicopter flew into its final approach path. The helicopter eventually turned to avoid 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 turn to avoid the private plane.

The FAA noted there may be some delays for helicopters in the new process. Urgent medical or law enforcement missions may still be allowed to proceed immediately, but with planes stopped from landing or taking off to give them priority clearance.

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