Federal Transportation Security Officials conducted an investigation Friday after two commercial flights suspended their landings as an Army helicopter entered airspace near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, with traffic restrictions on helicopters since the deadly collision in January.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, air traffic controllers directed Delta Airlines flight 1671 and Republic Airlines flight 5825 to land around 2:30 pm on Thursday, as the agency has conducted an investigation with the National Transportation Safety Commission.
The safety committee said the helicopter was a Black Hawk heading to the nearby Pentagon.
The two planes later landed safely, but the incident drew anger from Washington officials.
“Our helicopter restrictions around the DCA are clear,” Transport Secretary Sean Duffy said in a social media post. He said he would talk to the Department of Defense about “why our rules are ignored.”
The Army did not immediately issue a statement on the incident.
After a Jan. 29 air collision between American Airlines flights and Army Blackhawk helicopters, the FAA restricted non-essential helicopter traffic around the airport, just a few miles from the Capitol and the White House.
Thursday's episode also raised concerns among lawmakers, many of whom use the airport.
Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, led the Senate committee handling transportation, said the incident highlighted the ongoing risks posed by military flights near the airport and called for legislation to improve air safety for civilians.
“The Army once again puts the traveling public at risk a few days after the resumption of military flights in the national capital region,” Cruz said on social media. “Thank God, the air traffic controllers and pilots responded decisively, otherwise these two intimate calls could have resulted in the lives of hundreds of people.”
Senator Maria Cantwell, the committee’s top Democratic, criticized the distance between military flight and commercial traffic.
She called Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) “the past time” that “gives our airspace the security and security attention it deserves.”
