2 Jets Aborted Landings at DC Airport After Pentagon Lost Contact With Army Helicopter
Brig. Gen. Matthew Braman, head of Army aviation, said the loss of contact occurred because a temporary control tower antenna was not positioned to maintain communication with the helicopter as it flew low and rounded the Pentagon to land. He said the antenna had been set up during construction of a new control tower and has since been moved to the Pentagon's roof to prevent a recurrence.
Braman also said that federal air traffic controllers inside the airport did not have a good fix on the helicopter's location. Although the Black Hawk was transmitting data that should have given controllers its precise position, Braman said FAA officials told him that the data from multiple feeds and sensors was inconclusive, with some of it deviating by as much as three-quarters of a mile.
'It certainly led to confusion of air traffic control of where they were,' Braman said.
A spokesperson for the FAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NTD News, sister media of The Epoch Times, confirming whether controllers were able to accurately locate the helicopter's location at that time.
According to Braman, FAA air traffic controllers at the airport aborted the landing of a Delta Air Lines Airbus A319 during the Black Hawk's initial approach because both aircraft would have been near the Pentagon at the same time.
Related Stories
5/21/2025
5/16/2025
Due to the 20-second loss of contact, the Pentagon's tower did not clear the Black Hawk to land, forcing the helicopter to circle the Pentagon a second time. During this second approach, controllers at the airport decided to abort the landing of a second jet, a Republic Airways Embraer E170, because they still did not have a confident fix on the Black Hawk's location, according to Braman.
The incident has intensified concerns about the safety of the airspace around the busy Washington airport, coming just months after a midair collision in January between an Army helicopter and a passenger jet that killed 67 people.
Helicopter Flights Suspended
Following the incident, the Army on May 5
The suspension affects the 12th Aviation Battalion, which is responsible for evacuating top political officials in emergencies, a Department of Defense official confirmed to The Epoch Times.
The FAA confirmed the incident and said it and the National Transportation Safety Board would investigate.
At the time of the incident, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy criticized the Pentagon on social media.
'Unacceptable. Our helicopter restrictions around DCA are crystal clear. I'll be talking to the Department of Defense to ask why ... our rules were disregarded,' Duffy
'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. Take a taxi or Uber—besides, most VIPs have black car service.'
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) also said in a May 3
'I believe it's time for the FAA to act swiftly and assert control over the national airspace so the Army stops running air taxis for military officials near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport,' Cruz said.
In a statement regarding the same incident, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), ranking member on the Commerce Committee, said, 'It is far past time for [Defense] Secretary [Pete] Hegseth and the FAA to give our airspace the security and safety attention it deserves.'
In March, the FAA permanently closed one key route and banned the use of two smaller runways at the airport whenever helicopters conduct urgent missions or operate nearby.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
From NTD News
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
NORAD sends fighter plane after latest unauthorized flight over Kerrville floods
The Brief Airspace over parts of Texas has been closed since the deadly July 4 floods. After several violations, NORAD dispatched an F-16 to the area Friday. There's no info yet on the offending pilot or mission. KERRVILLE, Texas - After the deadly Texas floods earlier this month, the FAA moved quickly to restrict the airspace in the area so that first responders searching for victims would not be hampered by drones, news helicopters, and other craft. But NORAD, the military division charged with keeping America's airspace, says that they had to send a fighter plane to the skies over Texas after civilian aircraft repeatedly violated a temporary no-fly zone. What we know The Air Force told FOX Television Stations that an unspecified civilian aircraft was intercepted for violating the no-fly zone and safely escorted out of the area Friday afternoon "by NORAD F-16 aircraft." The civilian aircraft was flying at relatively low altitude, between 4,000 and 5,000 feet. "This intercept, combined with yet another TFR violation, has resulted in a total of five unauthorized incursions into restricted airspace," the Air Force statement noted. What we don't know It's not clear what type of aircraft violation prompted the military intervention, what that craft's mission was, or what consequences – if any – that pilot may be facing. NORAD directed further questions to the FAA, which did not respond to a request from FOX Television Stations for more information. Dig deeper "TFR" stands for "temporary flight restriction," which is an order from the FAA that generally restricts non-governmental flights in a small area. They are usually issued for special events or security situations; presidential travel is one of the most common reasons. A collision between a privately-owned drone and a rescue helicopter over Kerrville back on July 7 highlighted the need for such orders. The collision forced the helicopter to make an emergency landing and took it out of service. A similar incident grounded a critical firefighting aircraft during the Los Angeles wildfires earlier this year. What you can do Private pilots and drone operators should know to check the FAA's website for NOTAMs – "notices to airmen" that warn about TFRs and other hazards – before they take to the skies. A map of current TFRs is also available. The backstory Catastrophically heavy rain led to deadly flooding along the Guadalupe River early on July 4. Campsites and communities were swept away; more than 170 people are still considered missing while at least 132 – including dozens of children – are dead. Rain returned to the area around Kerrville on Sunday, pausing efforts to find more victims. Some volunteers were asked to evacuate for their own safety amid the renewed threat of flooding. The Source Information in this report came from NORAD, the FAA, and the City of Kerrville, with background from FOX 7 in Austin. Additional details from the Air Force were added later. This story was reported from Tampa, Fla.
CNN
2 days ago
- CNN
Flames from engine cause flight to declare an emergency and return to LAX
The FAA is investigating after a Sun Country Airlines Boeing 737 returned to Los Angeles International Airport with flames streaking from its right engine on Monday. 'We weren't even in the air 25 minutes and it sounded like lightning had struck the plane or something had exploded,' passenger Ruth Sorensen told CNN. 'We could actually hear the engine, shutting down after this happened and the flames were coming out.' Flight 430 was flying to Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport with 166 passengers onboard when it experienced 'an issue' with one engine after take off and declared an emergency, the airline said in a statement. 'I was actually seated next to the engine that caught on fire. I saw just a really bright flash out the window,' A passenger named Sarah told CNN affiliate WCCO. 'The passenger next to me held hands and kind of comforted each other, bracing for the worst.' The pilots declared an emergency and returned to land safely at LAX where they were met by fire trucks before eventually taxing to the gate. 'We slept on the airport floor from 3 a.m. until 8:30 a.m. to get on a new Sun Country flight to go home,' Sorensen said. 'Our passengers and crew are our priority, and we appreciate the professionalism of our pilots and flight attendants to ensure the safety of our customers,' the airline said in a statement. CNN's Christine Sever contributed to this report.
CNN
2 days ago
- CNN
Flames from engine cause flight to declare an emergency and return to LAX
The FAA is investigating after a Sun Country Airlines Boeing 737 returned to Los Angeles International Airport with flames streaking from its right engine on Monday. 'We weren't even in the air 25 minutes and it sounded like lightning had struck the plane or something had exploded,' passenger Ruth Sorensen told CNN. 'We could actually hear the engine, shutting down after this happened and the flames were coming out.' Flight 430 was flying to Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport with 166 passengers onboard when it experienced 'an issue' with one engine after take off and declared an emergency, the airline said in a statement. 'I was actually seated next to the engine that caught on fire. I saw just a really bright flash out the window,' A passenger named Sarah told CNN affiliate WCCO. 'The passenger next to me held hands and kind of comforted each other, bracing for the worst.' The pilots declared an emergency and returned to land safely at LAX where they were met by fire trucks before eventually taxing to the gate. 'We slept on the airport floor from 3 a.m. until 8:30 a.m. to get on a new Sun Country flight to go home,' Sorensen said. 'Our passengers and crew are our priority, and we appreciate the professionalism of our pilots and flight attendants to ensure the safety of our customers,' the airline said in a statement. CNN's Christine Sever contributed to this report.
