NTSB ‘Urgently’ Recommends Alternative Route for Helicopters at DC Airport

A report from the National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday urgently recommends that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) permanently prohibit helicopter operations near Washington’s Ronald Reagan National Airport when certain runways are in use for arrivals or departure.

The NTSB report calls helicopter operations near the airport “an intolerable risk to aviation safety by increasing the chance of a midair collision.”

The NTSB urged the FAA to prohibit helicopter operations near the airport when two runways — 15 and 33 — are in use, and to designate an alternative helicopter route. Runway 33 is used for landings and 15 for departures.

The recommendations come following the accident that occurred on the evening of Jan. 29, when a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter transiting an FAA-designated helicopter corridor collided with a PSA Airlines (American Airlines) regional jet on final approach to runway 33. The collision killed 67 passengers and crew on both aircraft.

In its 10-page urgent recommendation report, the NTSB said that helicopters transiting the designated helicopter corridor at the maximum authorized altitude of 200 feet could have only about 75 feet of vertical separation from an airplane on landing approach to runway 33. The NTSB said the lack of separation was “insufficient” and that vertical separation could potentially be even less than 75 feet depending on the helicopter’s lateral distance from the Potomac River shoreline or if an approaching airplane was below the designated visual glidepath to runway 33.

The NTSB acknowledged that a total closure of the helicopter route as recommended during times when runway 15/33 is in use would restrict a vital aviation corridor used for law enforcement activity, Coast Guard patrols, and other government operations. Thus, NTSB stressed, the FAA should designate an alternative helicopter route that can be used when that segment of route is closed. “[I]t is critical for public safety helicopter operations to have an alternate route for operating in and around Washington, DC, without increasing controller workload,” the report says.

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