The incident is under investigation by the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board.
Two commercial flights were ordered to land at Reagan Washington National Airport on Thursday as the US Black Hawk helicopter approached the area on its way to the Pentagon Army helipad.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement sent to NTD News, sister media of the Epoch Times, that it directed air traffic controllers to the 1671 Delta Air Line Flight, the Airbus A319 from Orlando, and the Republic Airlines 170, an emblem 170 from Boston, and the commander at local distances at local distances at local patients.
The incident is under investigation by the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The FAA told Congress it was considering the Army helicopter route in Thursday’s “loss of separation” incident and is deciding whether the route violated an agreement with the Army.
“It appears that Black Hawk’s operation is not going directly to the Pentagon helipad. Instead, it took a scenic route around the Pentagon, allowing us to head directly to the helipad from the west,” the FAA said in a memo.
Delta Air Lines reported that Flight 1,671 carries five crew members and 97 passengers. “In Delta, there’s nothing more important than the safety of our customers and people. We’ll work with the FAA during the investigation,” the airline said Friday.
In separate statements from NTD News, Delta and Republic Airlines said they are working with authorities investigating the incident. The Department of Defense did not respond to a request for comment by the publication.
Sen. Maria Cantwell, a top Democrat on the Commerce Committee, criticized the fact that the same Army brigade flew a helicopter that had come too close to Reagan Washington National Airport a few months after the fatal crash in January.
“It’s ridiculous that just three months after the Army’s Black Hawk helicopter tragically collided with the passenger jet in danger, the same Army brigade again flew a helicopter too close to the passenger jet with a final approach (in the airport). She said in a statement.
The FAA in March closed one important route forever and banned the use of two small runways at the airport while helicopters running emergency missions were operating near the airport.
Reuters contributed to this report.
