Originally published at: FAA Ends ‘See and Avoid’ In Mixed Helicopter Traffic Areas
The FAA has suspended visual separation for helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft in high-traffic airspace.
Although not made clear in the article, the reader can infer that controllers are now tasked with providing IFR separation standards between helicopters operating VFR and IFR traffic in all of class B and C airspace. While this may be an effective way to address a safety issue, it does increase the workload of controllers operating a system that is already stressed and understaffed.
There was a specific VFR helicopter corridor involved in the Washington, D.C. accident. Its initial design set up a hazardous operation and numerous subsequent incidents and safety reports over a span of years brought no change. Many other VFR corridors exist in busy airspace around the country that are well designed and work quite well. It would seem that redesigning this one early on may have been effective in mitigating this situation as well.
Mr. Bedford’s statement that the F.A.A. is “proactively mitigating risks before they affect the traveling public” rings false to me. I’m thankful that action was taken after a recent analysis was done as opposed to a knee jerk reaction, but that analysis was not done until after a fatal accident occurred. The investigation of which disclosed that a hazardous situation was known to exist for years beforehand.
All this reminds us that the F.A.A. has a mandate to cooperate with other government agencies such as the Department of Defense. Both of these agencies are subject to political influence. This works in a constitutional government operated by people guided by honest and integrity, but I’m not sure that still exists.
Seems like another, albeit smaller, knee jerk reaction that has a simple and better solution rather than what has been put before us here. I fail to see the overall benefit in this decision.
The FAA will not pick a fight with DOD (DOW) over military helicopters in commercial class B or C airspace. With every state having at least one military operation area (MOAs), no reason exists for military helicopters to fly in commercial airspace. Commercial helicopters have never had a problem following IFR procedures in class B airspace, to my knowledge. So this article is dodge, distracting from the real problem, military helicopters in commercial airspace; which should never happen. Get your Congressman to tell DOD, no more military helicopters in commercial airspace, period!!! Enough is more than enough of this crapolla! If Congress needs to make another law to tell DOD (DOW) to stay out of commercial airspace, so be it! Way, way too much waffling on this subject!!!
It wasn’t so much an issue of “see and avoid”, as an issue of “using the see-and-avoid phrase as an excuse to boldly and blindly go anywhere I want to go without paying attention to anyone” on behalf of some (military) pilots, and a case of “hey look I can use these 3 words to absolve myself of any and all responsibility, knowing very well I will receive an aircraft in sight response instantaneously but we all understand each other we are big boys right” on behalf of (some) controllers. It was an attitude issue, not a regulatory issue. Hence, the regulatory solution may or may not work, perhaps partially. I sure hope it does, but mostly I hope every instructor is now very clear on how NOT to abuse freedoms as loopholes, and pass that on to all airspace users.