US tightens airspace, limits helicopters near Reagan Airport After fatal midair crash

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced that strict limits on helicopter flights around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport will become permanent, saying urgent action is needed to prevent another deadly midair collision.

The FAA said the new rules, which take effect on January 23, will cement restrictions first imposed after a January 2025 crash between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and a commercial passenger jet that killed 67 people, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

The measures sharply limit helicopter activity in the congested airspace surrounding the airport, commonly known as DCA.

Under the new regulation, helicopters and certain other aircraft will be barred from operating near the airport at all times, except for a narrow set of “essential operations”. These include lifesaving medical flights, active law enforcement missions, national security emergencies, continuity-of-government operations, and transport of the US president or vice president.

The agency said it was bypassing the usual public consultation process because of what it described as an “unacceptable risk” of further midair collisions. Any delay, the FAA warned, could result in an accident similar to the one that occurred on 29 January 2025.

The decision comes just days before the first anniversary of the crash, which triggered a sweeping federal investigation and renewed scrutiny of aviation safety in the Washington region. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is expected to release its final findings next week, including the probable cause of the accident.

While the investigation is ongoing, officials have already pointed to several contributing factors, including overstretched air traffic controllers, equipment problems and hazardous helicopter routes that intersect with busy commercial flight paths.

The FAA’s move also lands amid a political dispute in Congress over recent changes to defence legislation. A provision adopted last month could allow the Pentagon to bypass airspace restrictions more easily if it cites national security concerns — a shift that aviation safety officials have criticised.

NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy described the legislative change as “a step backward” that risks undermining safety reforms. The White House and the Pentagon have urged lawmakers to reverse the provision and replace it with bipartisan legislation to tighten airspace controls and expand the use of advanced aircraft tracking technology. That effort passed the Senate but stalled in the House.

In setting out the new rules, the FAA made clear that routine military training flights and non-essential transport missions will no longer qualify for exemptions. “Essential helicopter operations in this area should be exceedingly rare,” the agency said.

By Aghakazim Guliyev