The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Tuesday recommended an immediate and permanent ban on helicopter operations in a four-mile stretch over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), citing significant safety risks. The move follows the January 29 midair collision between a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet, which killed all 67 people aboard both aircraft.
At a press briefing on Tuesday, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy described the airspace around DCA as posing an intolerable risk to aviation safety.
NTSB’s analysis on the crash revealed that between 2011 and 2024, there was at least one close call each month between commercial airplanes and helicopters at Reagan National Airport (DCA), with many incidents occurring at night.
During this period, the analysis showed that out of 944,179 commercial flights, 15,214 “close proximity events” were recorded, including 85 instances where aircraft were separated by less than 1,500 feet horizontally and 200 feet vertically.
“Helicopters on ‘Route 4’ at 200 feet altitude could have as little as 75 feet of vertical separation from an airplane on approach to Runway 33,” Homendy said. “That is an intolerable risk to aviation safety.”
Within hours of the NTSB’s recommendation, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that his department would immediately enforce the helicopter restrictions initially imposed after the January collision. “We are going to continue with our restrictions,” he said.
Currently, flights at the airport are paused to accommodate essential helicopter operations, such as when President Donald Trump departs the White House on Marine One, resulting in delays and diversions.
On the night of January 29, American Airlines Flight 5342, a PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700, was descending to land at DCA when it collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter conducting a night training mission.
The crash occurred at around 278 feet, below the 400-foot ceiling for helicopters. The Black Hawk should not have been flying above 200 feet, and an NTSB report suggested a faulty altimeter and possible interference with radio transmissions may have contributed to the incident.
The crash killed pilots Jonathan Campos and Samuel Lilley, two flight attendants, and multiple members of the U.S. figure skating community.
In response to the NTSB recommendation, American Airlines said in a statement: “We continue to mourn the lives lost in the tragic accident involving Flight 5342. We’re grateful for the National Transportation Safety Board’s urgent safety recommendations to restrict helicopter traffic near DCA and for its thorough investigation.”
