FAA meeting with Pentagon officials as agency considers new restrictions on military helicopter flights near DCA
'Everything's on the table right now,' FAA Deputy Chief Operating Officer Franklin McIntosh told a hearing of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. McIntosh said that the FAA is now reviewing helicopter flights transporting military officials on non-emergency missions and is discussing 'possible restrictions' with the Department of Defense.
The new moves follow the closure of the helicopter route that was in use at the time of the January 29 midair collision of a US Army Blackhawk helicopter on a training flight and a landing American Airlines regional flight, killing 67 people. On May 1, a helicopter from the same Army unit landing at the Pentagon caused air traffic controllers to order 'immediate go-arounds' for two nearby commercial flights.
The FAA revealed in a congressional hearing Wednesday the 'hotline' between air traffic controllers at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and the Pentagon, intended to coordinate aircraft, has not worked since March 2022.
After he was grilled by a Senate committee Wednesday, McIntosh insisted to Thursday's House committee hearing that the hotline will be repaired.
'That allows for immediate notification to the controllers,' McIntosh said. 'The issue really is making sure that that hotline is fixed.'
The FAA was not aware the direct line was broken until a May 1 incident where a helicopter circled the Pentagon and caused two flights to abort landings, McIntosh testified Wednesday.
Military flights to the Pentagon have been suspended since the incident and will not resume until the hotline is fixed, McIntosh said.
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