NTSB calls for urgent changes at Reagan National Airport following January deadline collision
Two planes had to perform “go-arounds” to avoid crashing into a military helicopter on Thursday at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), where a commercial plane and a Black Hawk Army helicopter collided in January, killing 67 people.
At about 2:30 p.m., air traffic control instructed a Delta Air Lines Airbus A319 and a Republic Airways Embraer E170 to perform “go-arounds” at DCA due to a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter inbound to the Pentagon Army Heliport, according to statements from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
A plane flies near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in the aftermath of the collision of American Eagle Flight 5342 and a Black Hawk helicopter that crashed into the Potomac River in Arlington, Virginia, on Jan. 30. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)
FAA INCREASING AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL STAFF, SUPERVISORS AT RONALD REAGAN WASHINGTON NATIONAL AIRPORT
The FAA said the Black Hawk was a Priority Air Transport helicopter.
The aircraft “took a scenic route around the Pentagon versus proceeding directly from the west to the heliport” prompting controllers to call for two go-arounds, Politico reported, citing an email written Friday by Chris Senn, FAA’s assistant administrator for government and industry affairs.
Senn said the aircraft involved in Thursday’s incident “were not within the restricted mixed traffic area” of the airport, but that the FAA will investigate whether the Army was in violation of its flight approvals.
In an email to Fox News Digital, a Department of Defense official said they are “aware of reports” about the incident.
Both planes were on their final approach at the time of the incident. As the Black Hawk continued flying, the proximity between the Republic flight and the helicopter then grew closer — roughly 0.4 miles and 200 feet apart, according to the email, per Politico.
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Ranking Member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., confirmed the Black Hawk helicopter came from the same Army Aviation brigade as the helicopter involved in the deadly Jan. 29 midair collision over the Potomac River.
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, is seen on Jan. 30. (Leigh Green for Fox News Digital)
“It is outrageous that only three months after an Army Black Hawk helicopter tragically collided with a passenger jet, the same Army brigade again flew a helicopter too close to passenger jets on final approach at DCA,” Cantwell wrote in a statement. “This comes less than a week after this brigade resumed flights in the National Capital Region. It is far past time for [Defense] Secretary [Pete] Hegseth and the FAA to give our airspace the security and safety attention it deserves.”
Fox News learned the brigade resumed flight operation on April 25.
BLACK HAWK PILOT FAILED TO HEED FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR IN MOMENTS BEFORE PLANE COLLISION OVER DC: REPORT
The close call comes less than one month after the FAA increased staffing and oversight for the DCA air traffic control team.
In March, the FAA announced that it would permanently restrict “non-essential” helicopter operations around the airport, and eliminate helicopter and fixed-wing mixed traffic.
The agency also prohibited the simultaneous use of runways 15/33 and 4/22 when helicopters conducting urgent missions are operating near DCA.
It is unclear how the incident took place, given the new guidelines.
The air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is seen in Arlington, Virginia, on Feb. 18. (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
FAA ‘PERMANENTLY RESTRICTING’ WASHINGTON HELICOPTER TRAFFIC AFTER FATAL MIDAIR COLLISION NEAR DC AIRPORT
FAA officials continue to evaluate current arrival rates at DCA per hour, which are “disproportionately concentrated” within the last 30 minutes of each hour.
The airport has the busiest runway in America, according to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
NTSB officials are investigating Thursday’s incident.
