FAA enforces stricter helicopter controls at Las Vegas airport after safety review

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has implemented stricter controls on helicopter operations around Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport following a review sparked by January’s fatal mid-air collision near Washington, D.C.

Acting Administrator Chris Rocheleau said agreements with local operators lacked defined vertical or lateral separation rules, while air traffic controllers routinely failed to issue proximity warnings.

By leveraging machine learning and language modeling, we're analyzing incident reports and multiple data sources to identify patterns and potential risk areas, he further added

Congress had previously criticised the FAA for inaction after 15,000 near-miss reports since 2021. Permanent restrictions are now in place at Washington’s Reagan National Airport, where a January crash killed 67.

"We took swift action including exercising positive control over the helicopters and giving more traffic advisories to pilots. In just three weeks, the number of reports of collision avoidance systems and traffic alerts dropped by 30%, according to the FAA.

Helicopter activity near Reagan Washington, which has the nation's busiest runway, was permanently restricted by the FAA in March. When necessary helicopters are flying close to Reagan, the FAA has ordered air traffic to stop.

In the Los Angeles region, the FAA is also closely examining aircraft traffic patterns near Hollywood Burbank Airport and Van Nuys Airport, which are both less than ten miles apart.

Operations and maintenance were also discussed during the FAA's helicopter safety roundtable on Tuesday. Six people were killed in an air tour helicopter crash in the Hudson River close to New York earlier this month, which sparked new concerns about operational safety.

The primary reasons for helicopter mishaps, according to the FAA, "are loss of control, striking an object during low-altitude operations, and both unintentional and intentional flight" in bad weather.