FAA restricts helicopter flights near DCA airport after mid-air collision

WASHINGTON — Federal authorities have restricted helicopter flights near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The move comes two days after a deadly collision between a passenger jet and a military helicopter that killed 67 people.

The Federal Aviation Administration will limit helicopter flights on routes along the Potomac River between the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and the Memorial Bridge, and over the airport itself.

“Today’s decision will immediately help secure the airspace near Reagan Airport, ensuring the safety of airplane and helicopter traffic,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement. “The American people deserve full confidence in our aviation system and today’s action is a significant step towards restoring that trust.”

The FAA said helicopter flights would be restricted but not completely suspended. There are exemptions for medical emergency flights, active law enforcement and air defense, or presidential transport missions that must operate in the restricted area.

The restrictions will remain in place at least until the National Transportation Safety Board completes its preliminary investigation into why the collision between an American Airlines regional jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter occurred, the FAA said. The NTSB has said it expects to release a preliminary report in about four weeks.

The restrictions come as investigators continue to pore over an area of the Potomac River where the two aircraft went down. Authorities say they have recovered the remains of 41 people who died in Wednesday’s mid-air collision.

John Donnelly, the chief of Washington, D.C. Fire and EMS, says of the 41 victims, 28 have been positively identified. Sixty-four people were on the jet and three were on the helicopter. No one survived. This is the deadliest aircraft accident in the United States since 2001.
 
Two of the three runways remain closed at DCA as the investigation and recovery operations continue. About 100 flights were canceled Friday because of the reduced capacity.

NPR’s Joel Rose and Tom Bowman reported from Washington, D.C; and Russell Lewis reported from Birmingham, Ala.