BURBANK, Calif. (KABC) — The chair of the National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday expressed concerns over the dangerous possibility of a mid-air collision at Hollywood Burbank Airport.
“Burbank is one where commercial airlines have called me to say the next midair is going to be at Burbank, and nobody at FAA is paying attention to us,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said at a hearing, referring to Federal Aviation Administration. “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.”
Tuesday’s hearing was part of the investigation into a deadly mid-air crash near Washington D.C. that occurred last year and involved an Army helicopter and an American Airlines plane.
The FAA released a statement after Homendy’s remarks.
“The FAA acted immediately to improve safety following the tragic midair collision, both at DCA and around the country,” the agency’s statement said. “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. One of our primary focus areas was Van Nuys Airport and nearby Hollywood Burbank Airport in the Los Angeles area. Based 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 (TCAS) alerts for Burbank arrivals and we permanently lowered the Van Nuys traffic pattern effective Jan. 5, 2026.”
A spokesperson for Hollywood Burbank Airport did not immediately respond to ABC7’s request for comment.