Two commercial flights were ordered to abort their landings at Reagan Washington National Airport on Thursday when a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter approached the area en route to the Pentagon Army Heliport.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement sent to NTD News, sister media of The Epoch Times, that air traffic controllers instructed Delta Air Lines Flight 1671, an Airbus A319 from Orlando, and Republic Airways Flight 5825, an Embraer 170 from Boston, to perform go-arounds at around 2:30 p.m. local time because of a nearby military air transport helicopter in the vicinity.
The incident is under investigation by the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The FAA told Congress it is reviewing the Army helicopter’s route in Thursday’s “loss of separation” incidents and is determining whether the route violated an agreement with the Army.
“It appears the Black Hawk operation did not proceed directly to the Pentagon Heliport. Instead it took a scenic route around the Pentagon versus proceeding directly from the west to the heliport,” the FAA said in a memo.
Delta Air Lines reported that Flight 1671 was carrying five crew members and 97 passengers. “Nothing is more important at Delta than the safety of our customers and people. We’ll cooperate with the FAA as they investigate,” the airline said on Friday.
In separate statements to NTD News, Delta and Republic Airways said they are cooperating with the authorities investigating the incident. The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment by publication.
Sen. Maria Cantwell, the top Democrat on the Commerce Committee, criticized the fact that the same Army brigade flew a helicopter too close to Reagan Washington National Airport months after the fatal collision in January.
“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 [the airport]. This comes less than a week after this brigade resumed flights in the National Capital Region. It is far past time for Secretary Hegseth and the FAA to give our airspace the security and safety attention it deserves,” she said in a statement.
The FAA in March permanently closed one key route and banned the use of two smaller runways at the airport when helicopters conducting urgent missions are operating near the airport.
