Following the deadliest aviation accident in the United States in almost 25 years, most helicopters were prohibited from using the flight path that an Army Black Hawk helicopter traveled prior to its deadly crash with an American Airlines regional plane. This flight path has long been a source of concern for aviation officials. The Federal Aviation Administration limited all but the most critical flights to two popular helicopter routes that run north and south along Washington's Potomac River. The Black Hawk that crashed into the plane on Wednesday night was traveling on both of these routes.
The F.A.A.'s new secretary of transportation, Sean Duffy, hailed the closures as a crucial new safety step on Friday. In a statement, he stated, "Today's action is a significant step towards restoring the full confidence that the American people deserve in our aviation system." There are other federal officials who share Mr. Duffy's concern about the busy helicopter routes surrounding Ronald Reagan National Airport.
The clogged airways surrounding Reagan, which draw a lot of military and official government flights due to its location, as well as a busy flow of commercial ones, have long been a source of concern for F.A.A. air traffic overseers. In fact, they were so concerned that they issued a warning in a 2023 memo evaluating the impact of adding new flight routes to the airport.
Legislators have also expressed concern. Last year, Virginia Democrat Senator Tim Kaine issued a warning about the possibility of individuals responding, "You were warned and you voted for it anyway," in response to requests for comment from lawmakers following a disaster.
Just before Congress approved to add five more round-trip routes to Reagan, Mr. Kaine made a prediction that turned out to be brutally accurate this week when 67 people died in a catastrophic collision over the Potomac. On Friday, divers continued to search the water for bodies. According to a helicopter pilot who was informed of the decision by an F.A.A. email alert and who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a confidential message, the new helicopter route closures effectively block off helicopter access to the north and south of the airport. The closures were communicated to the airspace's approved users on Thursday but were not made public until Friday. The F.A.A. did not specify when the limitations will terminate. Parts of two airborne routes that are often utilized by law enforcement and military helicopter pilots along the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers are cut off by the modification. Additionally, there are now restrictions on a third route that passes directly over the airport but is rarely utilized. Helicopter flights that are responding to medical emergencies involving important government officials or that are connected to national security operations are exempt from the new FAA limits.
In an interview, Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat who flew Black Hawk helicopters during her military career, called the cuts "a wise decision for now." Approximately four miles of what is known as Route 1, which runs from the Memorial Bridge on the Potomac River to the South Capitol Street Bridge on the Anacostia River, and the full four-and-a-half-mile-long Route 4, which runs from Hains Point to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge on the Potomac, are the newly restricted helicopter routes.
The Army helicopter that struck the passenger airplane had just turned onto Route 4 south of Hains Point after flying along the now-closed portion of Route 1.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated at a news briefing at the White House on Thursday that the chopper was performing "routine annual retraining" at night along "a standard corridor for a continuity of government mission." Two of the three crew members on board the Black Hawk were identified by the Army on Friday as Staff Sgt. Ryan O'Hara, 28, of Lilburn, Ga., the Black Hawk crew commander, and commander Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves, 39, of Great Mills, Md., the helicopter's co-pilot. In a departure from custom, the identity of a third crew member—a female pilot whose remains don't seem to have been found yet—was kept secret at her family's request. According to Army officials on Friday, Warrant Officer Eaves was the female pilot's assessor during her yearly evaluation trip.
These planes are used to practice transporting senior leaders to secure areas outside of Washington in the event that the nation's capital is attacked. The pilot who got the F.A.A. notification stated that those "continuity of government" flights would most likely be covered by the exception created for "national security missions."
The National Transportation Safety Board, which is looking into the incident, was asked at a news conference early Friday night if airspaces that accommodate both military and civilian planes should be reexamined J. Todd Inman, an agency official working on the probe, stated, "I can't give you a definitive answer on that." "All I can say is that this incident should never ...See More
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