A federal review of helicopter security around some of the most crowded American airports, requested by the Mortal air collision In January, between a passenger jet and an army helicopter in Washington, DC, revealed dangerous flight conditions at Las Vegas airport.
He Federal Aviation Administration He said Tuesday that the potential of a collision between helicopters and aircraft aircraft at the Harry Reid International Airport led the agency to make immediate changes in the flight rules. In the first three weeks after the implementation, the number of collision alerts for aircraft fell 30%.
The FAA said after the collision between an American Airlines jet and a Black Hawk army helicopter in January, which killed 67 people, who planned Houston, La Lengeles and the Golla.
The interim administrator of the FAA, Chris Rocheeau, said that Vegas quickly became a concern once the agency dug in the data because the agreements with the helicopter operators there did not clearly define the requirements of vertical and lateral separation when the helicopters approached the airport. And air traffic controllers in the tower did not issue traffic notices between helicopters and airplanes.
“We take quick measures, including the positive control exercise on helicopters and emitting more traffic notices to pilots,” said Rocheleau. He promised to take additional measures in Las Vegas and other airports where FAA identifies concerns.
Luke Nimmo, spokesman for the Clark County Aviation Department, sent all the questions about FAA findings.
After blocking a New York City Tourism Helicopter In the Hudson River that killed six people on April 10, FAA said it was establishing a regulation committee to develop recommendations to improve the commercial security of the aerial tour.
Jeff Guzzetti, former National Transportation Security Board and FAA accident researcher, said the fact that collision alerts for airplanes fell so quickly “indicates that there was a real danger before FAA saw this.”
“It is difficult to characterize how significant was the danger,” he said. “But it is another hole in the Swiss cheese that can be aligned with other holes and cause an accident like what happened in Washington, DC”
He said it made sense that FAA was heading for the first time to Las Vegas airport, given its large mixture of helicopters and commercial traffic.
“I think they will find problems in other airports, but perhaps not to the extent that they found this,” Guzzetti added.
The former president of the NTSB, Jim Hall, said there have been security problems with the Helicopter Tour industry, describing it as slipping in many cases to “become an attraction instead of a safe trip.”
“Unfortunately in aviation, it is accidents that attract regulators’ attention to their responsibilities,” he added.
He Collision in January air Near Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington was the most fatal aviation disaster in the United States since 2001. A Other accidents and almost failure series In the months passed, they have raised concerns about air trips, although it is still safe in general.
Helicopters have been a key concern, but Rocheleau said basic security problems remain operation and maintenance problems. He said that the main causes of helicopter accidents include control loss and hit an object during low altitude operations.
The FAA said that its review of the security data has expanded beyond the helicopters to look at airports with a combination of many different planes and airports that are very close together.
The proximity between Hollywood Burbank airport and Van Nuys airport in the Los Angeles area emerged as a concern because they are less than 10 miles (16 kilometers) away. Both airports serve a wide mixture of airplanes and have arrival and exit routes that are close.
A Hollywood Burbank airport spokesman sent questions to FAA. Van Nuys airport did not immediately respond to an email requesting comments.
“While the flight is still the safest mode of transport, we must always strive to do it better,” Rocheleau said. “We have to identify the trends and be smarter on how we use the data. And when we put the corrective actions in place, we must execute them.”
Aviation lawyer Robert Clifford, who represents several families of victims of the DC plane crash, praised the FAA for taking measures to make flights in safer helicopter.
“As a frequent critic of FAA, I must say that FAA deserves recognition for taking these steps to protect the traveler public,” he said. “Helicopters are known for being the most dangerous and potentially insecure aircraft. Additional FAA surveillance can save many lives.”
