WASHINGTON (AP) — Helicopters will probably be completely restricted from flying close to Washington, D.C.’s airport on the identical route the place a passenger jet and an Military helicopter collided in midair, killing 67 folks, the Federal Aviation Administration mentioned Friday.
The transfer comes simply days after federal investigators trying into the reason for the crash really helpful a ban on some helicopter flights, saying a string of close to misses in recent times confirmed that the present setup “poses an intolerable risk.”
The FAA, which manages the nation’s airspace and oversees aviation security, has come underneath criticism after the Nationwide Transportation Security Board mentioned there had been an alarming variety of close to misses in latest 12 months within the congested skies round Ronald Reagan Nationwide Airport.
Picture by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Publish through Getty Photographs
The closure of the helicopter route close to the airport makes everlasting restrictions put in place after Jan. 29 midair collision. The FAA order will permit a number of exceptions for helicopter use, together with presidential flights together with regulation enforcement and lifesaving missions.
The FAA additionally mentioned it’s finding out cities with airports the place there are a excessive variety of several types of plane sharing the identical house, together with eight metro areas with busy helicopter routes: Boston, New York, Baltimore-Washington, Detroit, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and Los Angeles.
It is also offshore helicopter operations alongside the Gulf Coast.
Earlier than the collision, there have been 28 authorities companies approved to fly helicopters close to Reagan Nationwide, together with the Division of Protection, navy providers, regulation enforcement, and emergency medical providers.
The Military Black Hawk concerned within the January crash belonged to the twelfth Aviation Battalion primarily based at Davison Military Air Subject at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. That unit has a categorized mission to make sure continuity of presidency by getting sure officers to security in case of an assault.
It is usually tasked with ferrying high-ranking authorities and navy officers to bases all through the area. Earlier than the crash the now-closed route was an everyday a part of their mission routes and coaching.
Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio.
