A Thursday incident in which an Army helicopter flying in Washington, D.C., delayed the landing of two commercial jets heading for Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is now under investigation.
The Federal Aviation Administration, which is probing the incident, sent out a notice about it on Friday, according to Politico.
The incident came just over three months since an Army Black Hawk helicopter and a jet collided over the Potomac River, killing 67 people.
The notice from Chris Senn, the assistant administrator for government and industry affairs at the FAA, said the Army Black Hawk “took a scenic route around the Pentagon versus proceeding directly from the west to the heliport,” leading to two jets being told to fly around again before coming in for a landing.
Senn said the incident created “loss of separation” events, which means minimum separation standards for aircraft had been violated.
The planes were “not within the restricted mixed traffic area” of the airport, according to Senn. After the January disaster, restrictions were imposed on helicopters flying near the airport.
In a statement, the FAA said a “priority transport” heading for the Pentagon’s helipad led to go-arounds for Delta Air Lines and Republic Airways flights at about 2:30 p.m. on Thursday.
The agency said it will continue to examine the incident.
The Delta plane and helicopter were less than a mile and 400 feet apart. The Black Hawk and the Republic flight were about 0.4 miles and 200 feet apart, Senn’s email said.
Lawmakers were angered by the incident.
Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, said the incident entailed the same Army Aviation brigade that was involved in the January tragedy.
“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, she said in a statement.
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, said that “the Army is once again putting the traveling public at risk.”
“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,” he said on X.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy put blame for the incident on the Army in a post on X.
“Unacceptable. Our helicopter restrictions around DCA are crystal clear,” he wrote, saying he will speak with the Pentagon.
“Safety must ALWAYS come first. We just lost 67 souls! No more helicopter rides for VIPs or unnecessary training in a congested DCA airspace full of civilians. Take a taxi or Uber – besides most VIPs have black car service,” he added.
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