Black Hawk chopper mid-air scare near Pentagon with two airlines put more than 200 lives at risk
An US Army
Black Hawk helicopter
caused a safety scare on May 1 when it flew dangerously close to two commercial airliners preparing to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
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The helicopter took what officials called a "scenic route" around the
Pentagon
instead of flying directly to its landing spot. As a result, air traffic controllers ordered Delta Flight 1671, which can carry up to 144 people, and Republic Flight 5825, which typically seats around 66 to 78 passengers, to perform emergency "go-arounds" just two miles from landing. Although the exact number of passengers has not been confirmed, a lot of people were at risk at that moment.
Both flights were on final approach around 2:30 p.m. local time when the helicopter entered their airspace. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials said the Army aircraft was as close as 200 feet vertically and 0.4 miles horizontally from the Republic flight. It also came within less than a mile and 400 feet of the Delta plane.
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FAA official Chris Senn said the helicopter's flight path caused a "loss of separation," meaning it violated minimum safe distance standards. He also noted the helicopter was not within the airport's restricted mixed traffic area.
To make matters worse, radar tracking failed momentarily. According to Senn, the helicopter's location 'floated and jumped' on the controller's screen, making it hard to track in real time. Five air traffic workers, including one trainee, were on duty at the time.
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The U.S. Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, condemned the event. In a post on X, he wrote: 'Our helicopter restrictions around DCA are crystal clear. 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.'
This incident happened just three months after a fatal crash between another
Army Black Hawk
and an American Airlines jet at the same airport, killing all 67 on board.
US Senator Maria Cantwell called the new incident 'outrageous' and added that the Pentagon and the FAA must pay more attention to airspace safety.
An Army spokesperson said the helicopter was following directions from Pentagon Air Traffic Control and acted according to approved flight procedures.
The National Transportation Safety Board(NTSB) is now investigating the incident with the help of the FAA.
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