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FAA indefinitely closes helicopter routes near Reagan National Airport, official says
CNN ^ | Fri January 31, 2025 | Pete Muntean

Posted on 01/31/2025 9:02:45 AM PST by MinorityRepublican

The low-altitude helicopter corridor that was in use at the time of this week’s fatal mid-air collision has indefinitely been shut down by the Federal Aviation Administration, an agency official tells CNN.

The move is the most significant action taken by the FAA since an American Airlines regional jet and an Army Blackhawk helicopter collided midair on Wednesday night before plunging into the frigid Potomac River in clear weather. Sixty seven people were killed.

The US Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was using what’s known as helicopter Route 4, a specialized corridor utilized by law enforcement, medevac, military, and government helicopters to fly east of Reagan National Airport. FAA charts show helicopters in the corridor must be at or below 200 feet above sea level.

The route that has been closed is north of the Wilson Bridge, which connects D.C. and Virginia, the FAA said.

(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: dccrash; faa; reagannational; washingtondc
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1 posted on 01/31/2025 9:02:45 AM PST by MinorityRepublican
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To: MinorityRepublican

horse gone....barn door closing


2 posted on 01/31/2025 9:04:19 AM PST by xp38
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To: xp38

My thoughts, exactly.


3 posted on 01/31/2025 9:06:03 AM PST by GingisK
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To: xp38

Better than NOT STOPPING!


4 posted on 01/31/2025 9:06:19 AM PST by Ann Archy (Abortion....... The HUMAN Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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To: Ann Archy

yeah i agree. It’s the right thing to do.


5 posted on 01/31/2025 9:08:54 AM PST by Strict9
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To: MinorityRepublican

Why there were “training” flights in the low altitude landing zone of the airport is beyond me.


6 posted on 01/31/2025 9:09:43 AM PST by Parley Baer
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To: MinorityRepublican

3 person crew and no one saw the plane. Could the pilot have done it intentionally? Not error.

Why has pilot not been named? Was the person suicidal?

Not DEI hire. Not trans.

How did 3 military not see it?


7 posted on 01/31/2025 9:11:44 AM PST by TornadoAlley3 ( I'm Proud To Be An Okie From Muskogee)
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To: MinorityRepublican

they were asking for trouble not to mention the two air craft were on separate frequencies and not hearing the full conversation. Looks like there were multiple balls dropped here across the board, we will see


8 posted on 01/31/2025 9:12:51 AM PST by ronnie raygun
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To: Parley Baer

There are dozens of sites nearby to relocate that pad if it is really necessary.


9 posted on 01/31/2025 9:13:05 AM PST by cnsmom
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To: MinorityRepublican
Locate chart “Washington Inset HEL.tif” available at: https://aeronav.faa.gov/visual/12-26-2024/heli_files/Balt-Wash_Heli.zip Notice Route 4, to which helicopters are restricted. PAT25 made a fatal turn to the southwest and climbed to 375 feet - departing from Route 4.
10 posted on 01/31/2025 9:17:33 AM PST by linMcHlp
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To: linMcHlp

11 posted on 01/31/2025 9:18:18 AM PST by linMcHlp
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To: TornadoAlley3

I’ve read it was normally a four man crew - pilot, copilot, and two flight officers. The flight officers were stationed left and right sides and provided eyes on both sides of the helo. But this flight had only one FO, not two. Plus, SOP is to use night vision goggles which restrict your peripheral vision to a 40 degree cone and (according to Blancolirio) really degrade your depth perception. Wearing NVGs in a high-traffic commercial airport zone sounds really bad.


12 posted on 01/31/2025 9:19:46 AM PST by ProtectOurFreedom (They were the FA-est of times, they were the FO-est of times.)
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To: MinorityRepublican

The idea that helicopters are intruding into the flight paths of jets at a major airport is crazy - I’m sure I’m missing a lot of context here, but it sounds like this has been a dangerous accommodation for the military and for DC bigwigs who want to be able to use helicopters to get around the DC area.


13 posted on 01/31/2025 9:20:11 AM PST by AnotherUnixGeek
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To: MinorityRepublican

A day late and 67 lives short.


14 posted on 01/31/2025 9:23:39 AM PST by VTenigma (Conspiracy theory is the new "spoiler alert")
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To: MinorityRepublican

Good...
Now, dig into the failure in the chain of command and start firing generals


15 posted on 01/31/2025 9:24:07 AM PST by joe fonebone (And the people said NO! The End)
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To: Parley Baer

Prob part of the plan to evacuate VIPs in a Continuity of Govt plan


16 posted on 01/31/2025 9:25:01 AM PST by silverleaf (“Inside Every Progressive Is A Totalitarian Screaming To Get Out” —David Horowitz)
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To: AnotherUnixGeek
it sounds like this has been a dangerous accommodation for the military and for DC bigwigs who want to be able to use helicopters to get around the DC area.

25,453,581 = annual passenger traffic in 2023.

Up to around 2000, it was capped at around 15,000,000.

Limiting flights and banning helicopters is probably what FAA needs to do regarding DCA.

17 posted on 01/31/2025 9:25:02 AM PST by MinorityRepublican
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To: MinorityRepublican

My BIL who worked in DC 20 years ago said the intent was to shut Reagan down once Dulles was completed but the problem was Reagan was closer for congress critters. We fly Omaha to Reagan regularly to see our son in Arlington (5 minutes) from Reagan and regularly see the Nebraska/Iowa congressional staff on these flights.

Guessing they all had to use Dulles when they shut down Reagan after 9/11 but you think they’d move military traffic out of a busy air space like Reagan.


18 posted on 01/31/2025 9:27:34 AM PST by Mean Daddy
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To: MinorityRepublican

I think that the FAA is wrong.

We need the helicopters, their crews, and the ATC, all in a well-maintained operational state.

The problems of:

- failing to maintain ATC,

- ATC failing to properly communicate,

- military failing to properly communicate,

- failing to include an observer on board the helicopter WHILE the flight crew is training anywhere near an airport,

all need to be addressed AND fixed. Especially for all operations in and around the general area that is the subject of much interest.


19 posted on 01/31/2025 9:30:22 AM PST by linMcHlp
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

Why would SOP be to wear NVG is an area full of lights? Aren’t those usually worn in dark environments? Why would you restrict your peripheral vision purposefully in that zone?


20 posted on 01/31/2025 9:32:42 AM PST by TornadoAlley3 ( I'm Proud To Be An Okie From Muskogee)
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