What separation method can be used when succeeding aircraft include a helicopter?

Visual separation is the appropriate method to use when succeeding aircraft include a helicopter. This technique allows pilots and air traffic controllers to maintain safe distances by ensuring that aircraft can be seen and visually monitored throughout the approach and landing phases. Considering the unique flight characteristics of helicopters, which often operate at lower altitudes and can perform maneuvers that fixed-wing aircraft cannot, visual separation ensures that both types of aircraft can safely coexist in the same airspace.

Using visual separation requires that pilots maintain visual contact with each other and can adjust their flight paths as necessary to maintain safe distances. This flexibility is especially beneficial when dealing with helicopters, whose flight profiles might change quickly due to landing or taking off vertically.

Other methods like anticipated separation typically rely on predicted aircraft paths and are less effective in rapidly changing situations, time-based separation focuses on maintaining a specific time interval between aircraft rather than direct visual contact, and altitude-based separation can be limited by the helicopter’s low operational altitude and the potential for terrain or other obstacles. Therefore, visual separation is uniquely suitable for integrating helicopter operations with other aircraft.