NTSB probing aborted landings at Reagan National Airport prompted by nearby Army helicopter

(CNN) — The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the aborted landings of two commercial flights approaching Reagan National Airport on Thursday as a US Army Black Hawk helicopter was approaching the Pentagon nearby.

Helicopters near the airport have been under intense scrutiny since the January 29 midair collision of American Airlines Flight 5342 and an Army helicopter from the same unit. The crash killed 67 people.

The Federal Aviation Administration, which is also investigating, said air traffic controllers instructed Delta flight 1671 and Republic flight 5825 “to perform go-arounds at the Reagan Washington National Airport due to a Priority Air Transport helicopter inbound to the Pentagon Army Heliport” around 2:30 p.m. ET on Thursday.

In a Sunday statement, US Army spokesperson Capt. Victoria Goldfedib said, “While conducting flight operations into the Pentagon in accordance with published FAA flight routes and DCA Air Traffic Control, a UH-60 Blackhawk initiated a ‘go-around’ after Pentagon Air Traffic Control told them they were not cleared to land, overflying the Pentagon helipad while maintaining all approved flight procedures. As a result, DCA Air Traffic Control issued a ‘go-around’ to two civil fixed wing aircraft to ensure the appropriate deconfliction of airspace.”

Goldfedib added that the incident is being investigated. “The United States Army remains committed to aviation safety and conducting flight operations within all approved guidelines and procedures,” she said.

Following the incident, the ranking Democrat who sits on the senate committee overseeing the FAA called on the agency and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, “to give our airspace the security and safety attention it deserves.”

“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,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington. “This comes less than a week after this brigade resumed flights in the National Capital Region.”

Sen. Ted Cruz, chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, said he would pursue legislation to “keep the flying public safe from Army helicopter flights that are dangerously close” to the airport.

“I believe it’s time for the FAA to act swiftly and assert control over the national airspace so the Army stops running air taxis for military officials near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport,” Cruz said in a post on X.

The closest proximity of the first aircraft, Delta Flight 1671 to the helicopter was “0.89 miles and 400 feet,” according to information the FAA shared with Congress. The second flight, Republic 5825, came within “0.4 miles and 200 feet” of the helicopter.

“It appears the Blackhawk operation did not proceed directly to the Pentagon Heliport,” said a preliminary FAA report shared with members of Congress. “Instead that took a scenic route around the Pentagon versus proceeding directly from the west to the heliport.”

The early FAA report says the helicopter was not in a restricted area put in place by the agency in the days after the January 29 midair collision.

The Black Hawk in question was part of the 12th Aviation Battalion out of Fort Belvoir, Virginia, the same unit involved in the crash over the Potomac.

Flight corridor near airport under scrutiny

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, at the NTSB’s recommendation, banned helicopter traffic on a four-mile stretch over the Potomac River following the January crash of the American Airlines flight and the Army helicopter.

Duffy told CNN on Friday the Pentagon may need to look into ground transportation more often, which he said may be a safer option, rather than putting commercial flights at risk. The air traffic controllers did the right thing by diverting the flights, he added.

While the helicopter in Thursday’s incidents was not in the banned area, planes at the airport are stopped for necessary helicopter flights – such as when President Donald Trump leaves the White House on Marine One – which has led to flight delays and diversions.

“We remain concerned about the significant potential for a future midair collision,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said at a briefing in March.

The collision between American Airlines Flight 5342 and the Army Black Hawk helicopter occurred on January 29 under clear skies over some of the country’s busiest and most tightly controlled airspace.

The passenger jet was moments away from touching down when it was struck on the right side by the military helicopter at an altitude of roughly 300 feet, investigators said. The helicopter was on a training mission.

A preliminary analysis of the flight data and voice recorder on board the Black Hawk indicated its altimeter may have been inaccurate and the pilots may not have heard some calls from the Reagan National Airport control tower, NTSB officials said last month.

Investigators uncovered 15,214 “near miss events” between 2021 and 2024 nationwide where aircraft were within one nautical mile of colliding, with a vertical separation of less than 400 feet. Additionally, there were also 85 cases where two aircraft were separated by less than 1,500 feet, with a vertical separation of less than 200 feet, according to the NTSB.

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNN’s Alexandra Skores, Aaron Cooper, Ray Sanchez and Zoe Sottile contributed to this report.

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