Two commercial aircraft were ordered to abort landings at Reagan National Airport on Thursday after a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter entered airspace near the runway while en route to the Pentagon.
Delta Air Lines Flight 1671, arriving from Orlando, and Republic Airways Flight 5825, arriving from Boston, were both directed to perform go-arounds by air traffic control at approximately 2:30 p.m. local time.
“A UH-60 Blackhawk was directed by Pentagon Air Traffic Control to conduct a ‘go-around,’ overflying the Pentagon helipad in accordance with approved flight procedures,” said US Army spokesperson Capt. Victoria Goldfedib in a statement.
”As a result, DCA Air Traffic Control issued a ‘go-around’ to two civil fixed wing aircraft to ensure the appropriate deconfliction of airspace.”
“The United States Army remains committed to aviation safety and conducting flight operations within all approved guidelines and procedures,” she said.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have opened an investigation into the incident.
Both Delta and Republic Airways have confirmed their cooperation with the inquiry.
The incident follows a fatal mid-air collision at the same airport on January 29, when an Army Black Hawk struck an American Airlines regional jet during its descent.
All 67 individuals aboard the two aircraft were killed, including Captain Rachel Lobach, her co-pilot, and a third passenger on the helicopter.
Lobach was undergoing a routine flight evaluation at the time of the crash.
The commercial aircraft, American Airlines Flight 5342, was descending toward Runway 33 at roughly 300 feet when the collision occurred.
Lobach had been serving as an aviation officer since July 2019 and had logged approximately 500 hours flying Black Hawks.
There remain major questions about her handling of the situation and whether she was fully complying with the required safety protocols.
The @nytimes story on the January DC plane crash hides its takeaway until the last sentences: the lady helicopter pilot ignored multiple warnings from her right seat about altitude (and his directly telling her to turn away) and flew straight into a passenger jet.
The end. Ugh. pic.twitter.com/7emtYkZTwQ
— Alex Berenson (@AlexBerenson) April 27, 2025
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Friday condemned the near-miss incidentst as “unacceptable.”
Duffy said both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating the event.
He also stated that he will speak with the Department of Defense to understand why established protocols were not followed.
“Safety must ALWAYS come first,” Duffy posted on X.
“We just lost 67 souls! No more helicopter rides for VIPs or unnecessary training in a congested DCA airspace full of civilians. Take a taxi or Uber — besides most VIPs have black car service.”
Unacceptable. Our helicopter restrictions around DCA are crystal clear. In addition to investigations from @NTSB and @FAANews, I’ll be talking to the @DeptofDefense to ask why the hell our rules were disregarded.
Safety must ALWAYS come first. We just lost 67 souls! No more… https://t.co/7ijmc8MW8v
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) May 2, 2025
