BURBANK (CNS) – The chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, while blaming Federal Aviation Administration failures for mid-air collision in Washington D.C. that killed 67 people, said Tuesday airline officials have warned her that Hollywood Burbank Airport faces similar air- traffic issues that could lead to a similar disaster.
During an NTSB hearing Wednesday, board chair Jennifer Homendy laid out what she called a series of institutional failures by the FAA that preceded the January 2025 crash between an American Airlines jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
She pointed in part to concerns about the mixing of commercial airplane and helicopter traffic, noting that there was extensive data about the air traffic pointing to the danger of such a mid-air collision.
She then noted in her remarks that she has heard from airline officials about similar concerns at other airports.
Homendy said airline officials have told her “the next mid-air is going to be at Burbank, and nobody at FAA is paying attention to us. So whether it is involving helicopters or not, people are raising red flags, and why aren’t people listening? The FAA has to ensure safety. That is their job.”
The FAA issued a statement following the hearing insisting that it has taken steps to improve safety at the airport in Washington, and at other airfields — such as Burbank and Van Nuys.
“”In February 2025, we began using innovative AI tools to identify similar hotspots with high volumes of mixed helicopter and airplane traffic and implement appropriate mitigations,” according to the FAA. “One of our primary focus areas was Van Nuys Airport and nearby Hollywood Burbank Airport in the Los Angeles area. Based on our safety analysis, the FAA lowered the Van Nuys traffic pattern by 200 feet during an evaluation in 2025 to see if that would reduce conflicts with aircraft landing at Burbank. Preliminary data indicated the change resulted in a reduction of Traffic Collision Avoidance System alerts for Burbank arrivals and we permanently lowered the Van Nuys traffic pattern effective Jan. 5, 2026.”
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