Never-ending watch

• The mid-air collision between an American Airlines flight and a U.S. Army Sikorsky UH-60 helicopter at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is a significant aviation safety incident.

• The airport operates in a complex ecosystem of commercial, private, military, and helicopter operations, with flight paths often overlapping.

• Experts are focusing on potential incidents when the ‘borders’ of these operations converge.

• The 12th Aviation Battalion’s Army helicopter, a high-tech machine with accurate electronic aids, could have been involved in the crash.

• The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has reported about 10 on air misses involving military aircraft in 30 incidents since 1987.

• There are concerns about a series of air incidents from ‘understaffed’ air traffic control operations across the U.S.

• The crash investigation findings by the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will be relevant in India, where some airports share civil and military traffic.