The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Friday that it “takes a series of steps” to improve safety in the neighborhood Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) After a deadly January on January 29 -collision between a commercial plane and an army Black Hawk -Helikopter about the Potomac River who killed 67 people.
The new guidelines come after the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) closes a closure of a helicopter Close to DCA Tuesday.
NTSB board chairman Jennifer Homendy said that the location of Helicopter Route 4 and the last approach path to DCA -Catwalk 33 was an “unbearable risk for aviation safety due to the chance of a collision for the air.”
National Transportation Safety Board chairman Jennifer Hombery said there were a number of potential errors that led to the crash of January 29. (Pool)
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After the directive, the FAA announced on Friday in a statement that “permanent non-essential helicopter activities around DCA” and “eliminating helicopter and mixed traffic with fixed wings”.
It will also close permanent route 4 between Hains Point and the Wilson Bridge and evaluate alternative helicopter routes as recommended by the NTSB.
“If a helicopter has to fly through the airspace on an urgent mission, such as life -saving medical, priority law enforcement or Presidential transport, The FAA keeps them specific distances away from aircraft, “according to a statement from the FAA.
An US Army UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter. (Patryk Ogorzalek/Bureau Wyborcza.pl via Reuters, File)
The FAA also prohibits the simultaneous use of jobs 15/33 and 4/22 when helicopters perform urgent missions, according to the explanation in the vicinity of DCA.
The deadly crash, which took place during a Army “Flight Check”, “ killed 67 people. There were no survivors.
A subsequent NTSB study showed that the crew members of the helicopter may not have known that they flew too high and possibly not heard critical reports from air traffic control before the fatal wreck.
Wreckage in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport January 30. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
Moreover, the use of “visual separation” was criticized by the army, whereby some claimed that it could have contributed to the disaster.
The FAA announced on Friday that it will limit the use of visual separation to certain CoastMarines and Parkhelicopter operations outside the limited airspace.
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Homanendy said that helicopters and planes could be so close to 75 feet apart during the landing according to the earlier report.
Officials said they have identified 15,214 authorities of aircraft that received warnings about helicopters in the vicinity between October 2021 and December 2024.
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The army said that the Black Hawk crew was very experienced and used to the sky Around the capital of the country.
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Transport secretary Sean Duffy on Tuesday said that the temporary ban on helicopters would continue near the airport.
“How didn’t the FAA know?” Duffy asked for the stream of helicopters near the airport.
Louis Casiano from Fox News Digital has contributed to this report.
