Army Helicopter Forces Jetliners to Abort Landings at Reagan Airport

WASHINGTON, D.C. — An Army Black Hawk helicopter caused two commercial flights to abort their landings at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) on Thursday afternoon, May 1. The incident raised serious safety concerns just three months after a deadly mid-air collision at the same airport resulted in the deaths of 67 people.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy labeled the situation as “unacceptable.” He stated that the helicopter violated established flight restrictions, which are designed to prevent dangerous interactions between military and civilian aircraft. Duffy expressed his concerns on the social media platform X, insisting that safety must always come first.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Black Hawk took an unauthorized route around the Pentagon instead of proceeding directly to the heliport. Chris Senn, FAA’s assistant administrator for government and industry affairs, explained in an internal memo that the helicopter’s deviation required air traffic controllers to instruct both a Delta Air Lines flight and a Republic Airways flight to perform go-arounds as they approached the runway.

The incident occurred around 2:30 p.m., involving Delta flight DL5825 descending from Boston and Republic Airways flight DL1671 descending from Orlando. Both were on final approach when they were told to abort their landings due to the military aircraft’s proximity. At one point, the Black Hawk was only 0.4 miles horizontally and just 200 feet vertically from one of the commercial jets.

Duffy plans to address the situation with Defense Department officials, questioning why the established rules were disregarded. He stated, “No more helicopter rides for VIPs or unnecessary training in congested DCA airspace full of civilians. Take a taxi or Uber.”

Following the January crash that claimed 67 lives, restrictions were placed on helicopter operations near the airport. Duffy’s remarks reflect a growing public anger over repeated safety lapses in DCA’s busy airspace. Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington highlighted the severity of the situation, calling the latest incident “an unforgivable error that put civilian lives at risk.”

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have initiated investigations into the incident. While no injuries were reported during Thursday’s event, it has reignited concerns about air traffic safety, especially in one of the nation’s most complex airspaces.