House Democrats called on the Pentagon and Federal Aviation Administration to make permanent changes to the “oversaturated” airspace around Reagan National Airport following the Jan. 29 midair collision that killed 67.
A group of 10 House Democrats led by Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia requested in a letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that helicopter traffic near the airport be prohibited in line with recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board.
“Prohibiting helicopter traffic within the immediate area adjacent to National Airport is a necessary safety measure to protect American lives,” the lawmakers wrote.
The letter came in response to the NTSB’s report released this month that underlined thousands of close calls in the airport’s airspace the past few years. The congressmen noted that “there was no significant, long-term response to prevent future occurrences” until the safety panel’s report.
The FAA shuttered helicopter Route 4, which comprises a 4-mile stretch between Wilson Bridge and Hains Point, in response to the report. The lawmakers want the Defense and Transportation departments to go a step further and permanently reduce air traffic around the airport “short of emergency response services.”
They requested that military training flights be conducted outside the National Capital Region, and if training requires that pilots go through the region, they should follow timing constraints recommended by the NTSB and take alternative routes away from Route 4 provided by the FAA.
The lawmakers also want alternative helicopter routes that would prevent redirecting air traffic over residential areas in the vicinity, a review of the existing air traffic volume in and out of the airport and for the Pentagon to require pilots flying within the National Capital Region to use a tracking system called ADB-S Out.
“America’s airspace has long been the safest in the world — many Americans have never witnessed such an accident during their lifetime,” the lawmakers wrote. “It is now the federal government’s task to ensure that the American public has no need for fear and does not witness another accident like this in their lifetimes.”
Their requests come ahead of the Senate Aviation, Space and Innovation Subcommittee’s hearing scheduled for Thursday to review the NTSB’s report. The review, led by Sen. Jerry Moran, Kansas Republican, will include NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy, acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau and Brig. Gen. Matthew Braman, director of Army Aviation.
