Near-collision at Burbank Airport helps lead FAA to change risky practice

A heart-stopping near-miss over Southern California is now fueling a sweeping federal crackdown on how aircraft share the skies.

Earlier this month, a plane and a helicopter came dangerously close to colliding near Hollywood Burbank Airport — and officials say it’s exactly the kind of incident that can’t be ignored anymore.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the March 2 scare unfolded when a Beechcraft 99 was cleared to land just as a helicopter drifted into its final approach path.

The two aircraft were suddenly on a collision course, converging in the same slice of crowded airspace.

In a split-second move that likely prevented catastrophe, the helicopter veered into a right-hand turn, dodging the incoming plane and averting what could have been a deadly midair collision.

The incident didn’t happen in isolation. Federal officials say it’s part of a troubling pattern of close calls popping up across the country — including a similar scare in San Antonio — raising alarms that the current system has reached a breaking point.

At the center of the concern? A long-standing practice known as “visual separation,” where pilots are expected to see and avoid each other in busy skies.

Regulators now say that’s no longer good enough.

In response, the FAA and U.S. Department of Transportation are rolling out a major safety overhaul: eliminating visual separation between airplanes and helicopters in high-traffic areas and shifting responsibility squarely onto air traffic controllers using radar.

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The move follows a year-long review of near-misses and traffic data, along with heightened scrutiny after a deadly 2025 midair collision near Washington, D.C., exposed serious gaps in aviation safety.

Under the new rules, controllers must maintain strict distances between aircraft — especially where helicopter routes intersect with airport flight paths. That could mean delays or rerouting for helicopter pilots, including those on medical or law enforcement missions, as safety takes priority.

Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy framed the changes as part of a broader push to modernize the nation’s airspace and prevent the next disaster before it happens.

“Today, we are proactively mitigating risks before they affect the traveling public,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said in a statement.