Army Black Hawk Helicopter Causes 2 Near-Misses with Commercial Planes at D.C. Airport After Taking the 'Scenic Route'
An Army Black Hawk helicopter caused two commercial flights to abort their landings in Washington, D.C., when its crew took "a scenic route around the Pentagon" on Thursday, May 1
Air traffic controllers at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport told the Delta and Republic flights to perform "go-arounds" because of the "priority air transport helicopter"
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called the helicopter's landing "unacceptable," and added: "No more helicopter rides for VIPs or unnecessary training in a congested DCA airspace full of civilians"
An Army Black Hawk helicopter caused two commercial flights to abort their landings at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport when its crew took "a scenic route."
On Thursday, May 1, the Army helicopter "took a scenic route around the Pentagon versus proceeding directly from the west to the heliport," according to an email obtained by Politico from Chris Senn, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) assistant administrator for government and industry affairs.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) told PEOPLE in a statement that a Delta Air Lines Airbus A319 and Republic Airways Embraer E170 were both instructed by an air traffic controller to perform "go-arounds" at around 2:30 p.m. local time because of the inbound Army aircraft, a "Priority Air Transport helicopter."
Senn said in his email that the Army crew violated safety standards and classified the incident as a "loss of separation" — meaning that the helicopter breached the minimum standard for how close together aircrafts in the same space can be.
The Army aircraft was "not within the restricted mixed traffic area" of the airport, Senn also noted, per Politico.
According to Senn's email, both commercial flights were on final approach. At one point, the Black Hawk helicopter came within 0.4 miles and 200 feet from the Republic flight, and it came less than a mile and 400 feet from the Delta plane, per Politico.
Air traffic controllers also did not have real-time tracking information on the helicopter because its radar information "inadvertently floated and jumped to a different location on the controller feed after being unresponsive for a couple seconds" as the aircraft was more than a mile away from the Republic flight, per the email.
One supervisor, four controllers and one controller in training were working at the time of the incident, Senn added.
Related: In Years Before Deadly D.C. Plane Crash, There Were Over 15K Close Encounters at Airport: NTSB
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy later spoke out about the incident in a post on X, calling the helicopter's landing "unacceptable."
"Our helicopter restrictions around DCA are crystal clear," Duffy wrote. "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."
"I'll be talking to the @DeptofDefense to ask why the hell our rules were disregarded," he added.
Army spokesperson Capt. Victoria Goldfedib told the Associated Press that the Black Hawk was following FAA flight routes and air traffic control from the airport when it was 'directed by Pentagon Air Traffic Control to conduct a 'go-around,' overflying the Pentagon helipad in accordance with approved flight procedures."
Related: Plane Carrying U.S. Congress Members Clipped by Another Flight at Reagan Airport as Reps Live Tweet from Cabin
Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
This week's incident comes just three months after 67 people were killed in a mid-air collision at the same airport on Jan. 29. An American Airlines regional jet and a Blackhawk Army helicopter collided, killing everyone onboard both aircrafts.
Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington state, who serves on the Commerce Committee, called the May 1 incident "outrageous."
"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 to Politico, adding that the Pentagon and the FAA should "give our airspace the security and safety attention it deserves."
Both the FAA and NTSB are investigating the incident, the FAA told PEOPLE. The NTSB is set to lead the investigation.
Read the original article on People
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
2 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Today in History: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints allow Black men into priesthood
Today is Monday, June 9, the 160th day of 2025. There are 205 days left in the year. Today in history: On June 9, 1978, leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints struck down a policy of excluding Black men from the Mormon priesthood that had been in place for more than 125 years. Also on this date: In 1732, James Oglethorpe received a charter from Britain's King George II to establish the colony of Georgia. In 1954, during the Senate Army-McCarthy hearings, Army special counsel Joseph N. Welch berated Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, a Republican from Wisconsin, asking: 'Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?' In 1972, heavy rains triggered record flooding in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The resulting disaster left at least 238 people dead and more than 1,300 homes destroyed. In 1973, Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths, winning horse racing's Triple Crown and setting a still-standing record by running the 1 1/2-mile dirt course in 2 minutes, 24 seconds. In 1986, the Rogers Commission released its report on the Challenger disaster, criticizing NASA and rocket-builder Morton Thiokol for management problems leading to the explosion that claimed the lives of seven astronauts. In 2013, Rafael Nadal became the first man to win eight titles at the same Grand Slam tennis tournament after beating fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in the French Open final. (Nadal would finish his career with 14 French Open titles.) In 2022, at its first public hearing on the matter, the House panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol placed blame squarely on Donald Trump, saying the assault was not spontaneous but an 'attempted coup' and a direct result of the defeated president's effort to overturn the 2020 election. Today's Birthdays: Sportscaster Dick Vitale is 86. Baseball Hall of Famer Dave Parker is 74. Film composer James Newton Howard is 74. Author Patricia Cornwell is 69. Actor Michael J. Fox is 64. Writer-filmmaker Aaron Sorkin is 64. Actor Johnny Depp is 62. Actor Gloria Reuben is 61. Actor Michaela Conlin is 47. Actor Natalie Portman is 44. Musician Anoushka Shankar is 44. Olympic gymnastics gold medalist Laurie Hernandez is 25.
Newsweek
3 hours ago
- Newsweek
US States Seek To Ban Chinese Citizens From Buying Land, Property
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Some U.S. states are attempting to ban Chinese citizens from buying land and property, amid souring diplomatic relations between the countries. By 2024, more than two thirds of states had enacted or considered laws limiting or barring foreign land ownership including states that specifically mention China by name, according to POLITICO. According to the non-profit membership organization the Committee of 100, in total 27 states have considered this kind of legislation. However, the group has not shared a list of those states. Newsweek has rounded up a non-exhaustive list of states that have been involved in this kind of legislation, based on publicly available information. Some states do not name China explicitly, but name foreign nations that would likely include China. A number of US stakes have advanced legislation to ban some land sales by foreign nationals and so-called "foreign adversaries." A number of US stakes have advanced legislation to ban some land sales by foreign nationals and so-called "foreign adversaries." Flourish Why It Matters There has been a wave of concern over Chinese land purchases in the United States, some of which have taken place close to military bases. This comes amid soaring tensions between the U.S. and China including trade clashes between the two giants and national security concerns. However, as of USDA data accurate to 2023, Chinese investors own land in the U.S. equivalent to roughly twice the size of the footprint of New York City. What To Know A number of states have considered legislation on the issue. In May, the Texas legislature passed a bill to ban people tied to the governments of China, North Korea, Russia and Iran from purchasing land in the state. In January, Republican senators in Arkansas introduced the Not One More Inch or Acre Act which would prohibit any Chinese citizen, entity or foreign person acting on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from purchasing public or private real estate in the U.S. On Tuesday, Arizona's Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed a bill to prevent the People's Republic of China from buying a 30 percent stake or more in land near military bases and other strategic assets. Meanwhile, Florida passed a bill to prohibit citizens from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, and Syria from owning agricultural land or property near military sites in 2023. Similar legislation has been passed in South Dakota, North Dakota, Indiana, Nebraska, Virginia, Utah, Iowa, West Virginia and Montana. Other states are considering legislation or bills regarding foreign nations' ability to purchase land including Ohio, Michigan and Georgia. What People Are Saying Speaking to Newsweek, Michael McFaul, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014, said: "Not every Chinese citizen is an agent of the Communist Party of China. Many of China's most successful entrepreneurs, engineers, and academics—especially those living and working in the United States—loathe the Chinese Communist Party. U.S. government officials must develop more sophisticated policies for decreasing the influence of the Chinese Communist Party in the United States that do not treat all Chinese citizens as enemies of America." Cole Hefner, a Texas Republican state representative, said of Texas' bill: "Senate Bill 17 will counter this threat and make Texas a leader in state security. We cannot, we will not, allow oppressive regimes who actively seek to do harm to cease control and dictate their terms over our economy, our supply chains, our daily lives, our critical infrastructure for our food supply." Advocacy group Asian Texans for Justice opposed the Texas bill, saying it revives "a shameful chapter in American history—when Asian immigrants were banned from owning land." What Happens Next Texas' bill will now go to the state's governor, who has indicated he will support it. The success of other bills as well as whether other states will advance legislation pertaining to the issue remains to be seen.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
MTA defies feds' fourth deadline to kill congestion pricing, calls Duffy threats a ‘sham'
Fourth time's a 'sham.' The Metropolitan Transportation Authority defied the feds' fourth deadline to kill congestion pricing — while ripping Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's repeated threats as a 'sham.' In a pair of letters sent to Duffy on Wednesday, the MTA and the state Department of Transportation said that his deadlines and letters threatening to yank federal funding were irrelevant — since the battle over the tolling program is playing out in court. The May 21 time limit for the MTA to stop collecting the $9 tolls on drivers entering Manhattan below 60th Street was ordered in a letter Duffy sent to Gov. Kathy Hochul last month — when his third deadline came and went. The April 21 letter gave Hochul another 30 days to prove to him why the US Department of Transportation shouldn't 'remedy New York's non-compliance' by yanking untold amounts of federal transit funding. But state agencies argued in the recent filings that the whiplash back-and-forth was 'procedurally improper.' The MTA attorneys argued there wasn't even a point in responding to Duffy's threat, since according to the transportation secretary's original Feb. 19 letter announcing he was pulling federal approval for the first-in-the-nation program, he has already made up his mind. That letter 'already purported to 'terminate'' congestion pricing, wrote attorney Roberta Kaplan, 'without any prior notice or opportunity to be heard as required by the relevant regulations.' 'It is thus obvious that USDOT's decision has already been made, and that this is an 'opportunity to be heard' in name only,' Kaplan argued. 'Secretary Duffy did not afford the Project Sponsors any notice or due process before that alleged termination, and he cannot cure that failure now through a sham exchange of letters,' Kaplan wrote. The state DOT letter goes further, and hints that Duffy's lawyers may be trying to form a new legal argument to kill the toll — citing Duffy's ask last month that Hochul address 'policy concerns' mentioned in his Feb. 19 missive. 'The Secretary's February 19 letter did not state that those policy concerns were an independent basis for his decision,' state Assistant Attorney General Andrew Frank wrote, 'and as a legal matter they cannot be a basis for termination.' Kaplan added that 'those supposed policy concerns' were mere 'after-the-fact rationalizations to justify the Secretary's illegal attempt to end the Program.' Both comments hint at the concerns expressed in an internal Department of Justice memo erroneously filed to the public docket on behalf of the US DOT by since-removed federal attorneys. The memo expressed doubts over Duffy's legal reasoning behind his original letter, casting his strategy as 'very unlikely' to succeed, and encouraged a move towards one focused on shifting priorities and policies. The latest filing by the feds in the case is a memo opposing the MTA's request for a preliminary injunction asking the judge to bar Duffy from making good on his threat to pull funding in retaliation for the agency not stopping the tolls. The memo notes that the US DOT's 'decision making process is still unfolding.' A federal DOT spokesperson told The Post that 'we will be reviewing New York's response to determine if they remain in compliance.'
