Two planes had to perform “go-arounds” to avoid crashing into a military helicopter on Thursday at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), where a commercial plane and a Black Hawk Army helicopter crashed in January, killing 67 people.
At about 2:30 p.m., air traffic control instructed Delta Air Lines Flight 1671 and Republic Airways Flight 5825 to perform “go-arounds” at DCA due to a Priority Air Transport helicopter inbound to the Pentagon Army Heliport, according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
A Department of Defense official in an email to Fox News Digital said they are “aware of reports” about the incident.
FAA INCREASING AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL STAFF, SUPERVISORS AT RONALD REAGAN WASHINGTON NATIONAL AIRPORT
The close call comes less than one month after the FAA increased staffing and oversight for the DCA air traffic control team, which came under fire following the deadly Jan. 29 midair collision over the Potomac River.
In March, the FAA announced that it would permanently restrict “non-essential” helicopter operations around the airport, and eliminate helicopter and fixed-wing mixed traffic.
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The agency also prohibited the simultaneous use of runways 15/33 and 4/22 when helicopters conducting urgent missions are operating near DCA.
It is unclear how the incident took place, given the new guidelines.
FAA officials continue to evaluate current arrival rates at DCA per hour, which are “disproportionately concentrated” within the last 30 minutes of each hour.
The airport has the busiest runway in America, according to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA).
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The U.S. Army did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
