The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered a widespread permanent ban on most helicopter flights in airspace near Ronald Reagan Washington National airport, a move responding to the deadly midair collision one year ago involving a US Army helicopter and passenger jet.
The FAA had previously implemented the ban as a temporary measure but on 22 January released an interim final rule that will make the restrictions permanent.
“These revisions are necessary to mitigate the potential for midair collisions resulting from insufficient separation between fixed-wing aircraft operating to or from [Reagan National] and helicopters or powered-lift” aircraft, the FAA’s order says.
The National Transportation Safety Board had in March last year recommended that the FAA implement the permanent ban.
The FAA’s rule specifically restricts helicopters, except when conducting “essential operations”, from flying “in the area between the Memorial Bridge, Hains Point and the Wilson Bridge”. The Memorial Bridge is north of Reagan National and the Wilson Bridge is south.
The FAA defines essential flights as those involving “lifesaving medical” care and “active” national security and law enforcement missions, and flights carrying the US president or vice-president.
“Essential helicopter operations in this area should be exceedingly rare,” the FAA says. “Routine training, proficiency evaluation flights and other flights for transportation of personnel that are not involved in an essential operation… are not essential operations.”
The 29 January 2025 midair collision involved a US Army Sikorsky UH-60L Black Hawk slamming into a PSA Airlines MHIRJ CRJ700 above the Potomac River.
Investigators say the Black Hawk, when it struck the passenger jet, was traversing Washington Route 4 (a once-heavily used helicopter corridor) at roughly 300ft, exceeding a 200ft altitude cap.
The CRJ700’s pilots had been moments from landing on Reagan National’s less-used runway 33, the approach to which takes aircraft over Washington Route 4.
The collision sent the jet and helicopter plummeting into icy water, killing all 67 people aboard both.
