On Friday, January 31, two days after the mid-air collision between an American Airlines passenger plane and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter in the United States, federal authorities have indefinitely restricted helicopter flights near the Reagan Washington National Airport.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) took this action to reduce the risk of another collision from happening.
An FAA official stated that most helicopters are prohibited from entering two flight routes near the airport until a comprehensive assessment is completed. Only law enforcement and medical helicopters are allowed to enter the area between the airport and nearby bridges. The duration of this restriction is currently unclear.
Earlier, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the Army units in Virginia involved in the incident to suspend flights for 48 hours on Thursday, and mentioned that this period might be extended to reevaluate flight training exercises in the area. He told Fox News, “We should halt flights until we know the truth.”
This marks the deadliest air disaster in the United States in over two decades. On Wednesday, January 29, around 9 p.m., a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines plane collided near the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, and both aircraft crashed into the Potomac River.
The plane was carrying 60 passengers and 4 crew members, while the helicopter had 3 military personnel on board. Authorities from the Washington D.C. Fire and EMS Department confirmed that there were no survivors in the incident.
The cause of the accident is still under investigation.
Some have pointed out the issue of crowded airspace around the Washington D.C. area.
The region is home to three commercial airports, multiple military bases, and helicopters that provide service to high-ranking government officials. A report by the Government Accountability Office in 2021 revealed that within a 30-mile radius of Reagan Washington National Airport, there were a total of 88,000 helicopter flights, including approximately 33,000 military flights and 18,000 law enforcement flights over a three-year period ending in 2019.
Senate Commerce Committee Chair Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell from Washington questioned the safety concerns of military and commercial flights being only 350 feet apart vertically and horizontally. She urged the government to reconsider allowing so many helicopters to fly near such a busy airport.
Seven American pilots have stated that due to congested airspace, the runways at the airport are shorter, and communication with military aircraft directly is not feasible – military aircraft use different radio frequencies, making landing at Reagan Airport uniquely challenging.
Radio communications revealed that air traffic controllers had warned the helicopter of an approaching jet and instructed it to change course.
There have also been observations regarding the shortage of tower controllers at the airport. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) mentioned that currently, 3,000 controllers are short of their staffing targets.
In 2023, the agency reported having approximately 10,700 certified controllers, similar to the previous year.
According to a source, only one controller was handling local aircraft and helicopter traffic at the airport on Wednesday, instead of the usual two, which was considered “abnormal.”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy pledged to reform the Federal Aviation Administration.
Duffy stated on X that he is working on a preliminary plan to address the FAA’s issues and hopes to announce it soon.
Another potential reason for the accident could be the helicopter flying at an excessively high altitude.
President Trump commented on Friday, suggesting that the helicopter was flying too high at the time of the collision.
Trump posted on Truth Social, “The Black Hawk helicopter was flying too high. It was way above the 200-foot limit. It’s really not that hard to understand, right?”
The military indicated that the maximum altitude for helicopter flight route was 200 feet, but it may have been exceeded. Flight tracking data from FlightRadar24 indicated the crash occurred at approximately 300 feet.
Hegseth mentioned that the helicopter was piloted by three soldiers who were “quite experienced,” wearing night vision goggles and conducting annual training flights at the time.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) expects to recover the flight data recorder (black box) from the helicopter later on Friday to confirm details.
The Washington Fire Department stated that divers had just retrieved the flight data recorder from the civilian aircraft and planned to recover both aircraft and search for other components on Friday.
NTSB mentioned that they plan to retrieve the helicopter’s black box on Friday, which records flight data and cockpit sounds.
The committee is currently examining the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from the recovered American Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 aircraft.
Almost no one believes the accident was caused by American Airlines. CEO Robert Isom stated that the Bombardier jet was operated by regional subsidiary PSA Airlines, and the pilot of the crashed flight #5342 had about six years of flying experience.
(This article was referenced from reporting by Reuters)