March 15 (UPI) — The Federal Aviation Administration has imposed permanent restrictions on non-essential helicopter operations around the Washington, D.C., airport where an Army chopper collided with an American Airlines regional jet six weeks ago.
The FAA “is taking a series of steps to improve safety around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport that follows the NTSB’s recommendations,” according to a news release.
The Black Hawk helicopter with a crew of three collided with an American Airlines jet carrying 64 people on Jan. 29. Both aircraft crashed and went into the Potomac River in Arlington, Va. All 67 aboard were killed.
Other near collisions involving helicopters have been reported. There has been at least one avoidance alert monthly from 2011 through 2024 due to commercial aircraft and helicopters getting too close. Helicopters are commonly used in Washington.
The FAA’s announcement followed a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board that recommended banning helicopters from flying in the area.
The FAA said it is evaluating other routes for helicopters. Other airports nearby are Washington Dulles and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.
In the new order, helicopters can only fly through Reagan airport’s airspace on urgent matters.
“If a helicopter must fly through the airspace on an urgent mission, such as lifesaving medical, priority law enforcement or presidential transport, the FAA will keep them specific distances away from airplanes,” according to a statement from the FAA.
Also, runways 15 and 33, near where the American Airlines flight was seconds away from landing, will be blocked for aircraft when helicopters are in the area.
Route 4 between Hains Point and the Wilson Bridge also will permanently close.
NTSB board leader Jennifer Homendy said the location of helicopter Route 4 and the final approach path to DCA runway 33 was an “intolerable risk to aviation safety by increasing the chance of a midair collision.”
She said during a press briefing earlier this week: “Seventy-five feet is very close. That’s way too close.”
The FAA also is assessing other cities with chartered helicopter routes, including Boston, New York, Detroit, Dallas, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles, as well as the U.S. Gulf Coast, including offshore helicopter operations.
“The FAA will have corrective action plans for any risks that are identified,” the FAA said.
The FAA also announced it will limit the use of visual separation to certain Coast Guard, Marines and Park Police helicopter operations outside the restricted airspace.
The military’s use of “visual separation” was criticized by NTSB.
The NTSB found the helicopter’s crew members might not have known they were flying too high and may not have heard critical messages from air traffic control before the crash.
New technology is also being utilized to check on risk factors.
“To make us more predictive, we are using machine learning and language modelling to scan incident reports and mine multiple data sources to find themes and areas of risk,” according to a statement from the agency.
The FAA is under the Department of Transportation, which is run by Sean Duffy.
U.S. Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va, who represents the district that includes the airport, applauded the FAA’s decision, saying in a statement: “Permanently closing this route to non-essential helicopter traffic is the right call. … I thank Secretary Duffy and our other federal partners for acting so quickly on the NTSB’s recommendation.”