NORTH CAROLINA, USA — There were approximately 30 mid-air close calls over North Carolina on Saturday, Sept. 28, as relief efforts ramped up in response to Hurricane Helene, a federal official briefed on the matter confirmed to CBS News Friday.
The close calls resulted from a spike in aircraft that included planes, helicopters and drones arriving in western North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Helene. The federal official said the close calls did not involve commercial airline traffic.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the North Carolina Department of Transportation, say air traffic over Western North Carolina has increased by 300% due to relief efforts since the storm cleared.
Becca Gallas, director of the North Carolina Department of Transportation Division of Aviation, told CBS News by phone Friday that there has been a steep increase in government, search and rescue flights, as well as National Guard flights.
"When the images of the impact of Helene started to show up on TV screens, there was an outpouring of support and love from communities and people were trying to help get supplies on the ground very quickly, but there were safety issues with the air operations," Gallas said.
In addition to the mid-air close calls, there have been two incidents airport involving private aircraft dropping off relief supplies, Gallas disclosed. One had landing gear that did not deploy on landing, and another aircraft caught fire. There were no injuries in either incident, Gallas said.
Two small airports in the area were so overwhelmed by incoming traffic they ran out of fuel for a period, she added, but that has since been resolved.
The spike in air traffic has resulted in additional requirements being put in place for aircraft entering certain areas of North Carolina in order to meter the flow of air traffic. The FAA has instituted a Prior Permission Required designation, which means pilots and drone operators must get permission to use an airport facility or runway. The PPR is currently in effect at the Asheville Regional Airport and Rutherford County Airport, but could be extended to others.
Gallas said in response to the spike, the FAA and NCDOT have co-implemented three mitigation strategies to reduce the risk of an aircraft accident during Helene relief efforts.
The first involves establishing call-in lines at airports for incoming pilots to schedule landing and supply unloading times, as well as scheduling and reserving aircraft parking. The second establishes sky corridors, which are essentially "lanes" for civilian aircraft to use that are separate from the lanes being utilized by military or search and rescue flights. And third is implementing short-term targeted airspace restrictions in areas where multiple search and rescue aircraft are operating.
Gallas explained that with the exception of the Asheville Regional Airport, which does have commercial aircraft, these increase in traffic is at small general aviation airports that may typically have only three employees working, so it's also an effort to keep ground operations sustainable and not overwhelm limited staff.
"We want every single pilot and aircraft to go home safely at the end of the night when they are doing that critical operation," Gallas said.
As of Friday, at least 225 deaths across six states have been attributed to Helene, CBS News has confirmed, including 114 in North Carolina.
Western North Carolina specifically has been hard hit by the storm, with significant flooding that has devastated entire communities. Hundreds of roads across Western North Carolina remain closed, requiring state and federal teams to scour the region for survivors by air.
President Biden surveyed Helene's destruction in the Carolinas by air Wednesday, and announced that the federal government will cover all debris removal and emergency protective measure costs in North Carolina for six months.
