After Another Near Miss at DCA, Army Suspends Helicopter Flights

Three months after a devastating midair collision at Washington National Airport (DCA), another alarming incident involving a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and two Delta Air Lines flights has prompted the military to ground its flights over the nation’s capital…at least for now.

The May 1st incident involved an Army helicopter reportedly deviating from its standard route to the Pentagon and instead taking a “scenic route,” flying dangerously close to commercial airspace. That unauthorized maneuver forced two inbound Delta Air Lines flights, one from Orlando and another from Boston, to abort their landings at DCA. The FAA classified both as “loss of separation” events, with aircraft briefly coming closer than federal regulations allow.

Let’s not mince words: this could have been another disaster. One of the jets descended as low as 450 feet before being told to go around. Thankfully, unlike January’s fatal crash, air traffic controllers were able to see the helicopter’s position in real time thanks to its ADS-B transponder being enabled. Still, it was far too close for comfort. It has since emerged, though, that the maneuver may have been ordered by the Pentagon Air Traffic Control, which operates on a different frequency than DCA’s control tower.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy took to X to voice his anger: “Unacceptable. Our helicopter restrictions around DCA are crystal clear.” As I covered last week, he went on to say that VIPs and unnecessary training flights have no place in such congested, civilian-controlled airspace. “Take a taxi or an Uber,” he quipped. “Most VIPs have black car service anyway.”

Following the incident, the Army announced it would suspend flights by the 12th Aviation Battalion (the very same unit involved in the January collision). Both the FAA and the NTSB have launched investigations.

> Read More: Trump Official Slams Military After Army Helicopter Nearly Collides With Delta Jets At DCA

CONCLUSION

It’s hard to overstate how sensitive and complicated the airspace over D.C. is. But that’s exactly why these incidents are so troubling. This is now the second safety breach (that we know of) in just a few months involving military aircraft operating near a major commercial airport. One was one too many…

It seems clear that need tighter coordination, clearer restrictions, and accountability. Otherwise, the next close call might not end with everyone walking away. I’m glad that the Army has suspended helicopter missions around the Pentagon, and I hope that suspension will not be temporary in nature.