The US Department of Defense has announced the suspension of military helicopter flights near Reagan National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia.
Activities in the area were put on hold due to an incident involving a US Army UH-60 Black Hawk maneuver that caused two commercial planes arriving at the airport to abort their landings.
The suspension will impact operations led by the 12th Aviation Battalion, which is responsible for rotary-wing transport of government officials, including the president, vice president, and defense secretary, across the Pentagon and the larger DC area.
A UH-60 from the same unit was involved in a fatal accident last January that killed a total of 67 people on board the helicopter and the airliner it crashed into.
Special Flights Only
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in March already restricted non-essential helicopter flights around DCA and eased mixed traffic to rotary and fixed-wing platforms in response to the recent mishaps.
“If a helicopter must fly through the airspace on an urgent mission, such as lifesaving medical, priority law enforcement, or Presidential transport, the FAA will keep them specific distances away from airplanes,” the FAA said.
The US Army said that last week’s incident, recorded on Thursday afternoon, involved a UH-60 that conducts training with no VIPs inside, Fox News reported.
Army spokesperson Capt. Victoria Goldfedib specified that the helicopter was “conducting flight operations into the Pentagon in accordance with published FAA flight routes and DCA Air Traffic Control” when it was instructed to “go around” by the Pentagon Air Traffic Control.
Investigation Ongoing
An investigation into the DCA incident is now underway between the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board.
“The United States Army remains committed to aviation safety and conducting flight operations within all approved guidelines and procedures,” NBC News reported, citing Goldfedib.
The FAA has not yet commented on the army’s helicopter flight restriction around DCA, according to Politico.
