Potential for airborne collision near D.C. airport more frequent than previously disclosed

NEW YORK, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Airline pilots received more than 100 cockpit warnings over the past decade that they were in danger of a midair collision with a helicopter near the Reagan National Airport, according to flight-tracking and government incident data, a record of repeated risks compiled by air traffic controllers before the Jan. 29 crash that killed 67 people.

The records reveal "the potential for an airborne collision was more frequent near the airport than has been previously disclosed," noted The Washington Post on Thursday about the data. Each of the incidents triggered an automated cockpit warning advising airliner pilots to take action to avoid a collision, causing them in many cases to abort landings or change flight paths.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which employs the nation's air traffic controllers, requires such incidents to be documented as part of the agency's work to analyze safety.

"The 104 warnings from the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System add to the volume of evidence suggesting that federal regulators had ample information before last month's crash that the crowded airspace near the airport carried the risk of catastrophic consequences," it said.

Controllers suggested ways that the FAA could better manage the safety of the busy airspace, including requiring helicopters to hold when airliners approached or moving helicopter routes farther from airline flight paths, added the report.