FAA Slows Reagan Airport’s Flight Arrival Rate
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U.S. aviation safety regulators are slowing the rate of aircraft arrivals at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to help ease the strain on air traffic controllers in the aftermath of a deadly midair collision last week.
The Federal Aviation Administration notified airlines of the planned change in an email sent Feb. 5 that was seen by Bloomberg News. It will reduce the number of hourly arrivals to 26 from 28, according to the email. That number already is reduced because two of the airport’s three runways remain closed. The change will increase average flight delays to 50 minutes from 40 currently, according to the email.
The slowdown is the latest change to flight activity imposed by the agency since a U.S. Army helicopter collided with an American Airlines regional jet last week, killing 67 people. The FAA earlier imposed new restrictions on helicopter traffic near the airport during the initial phase of the National Transportation Safety Board’s crash investigation.
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“NTSB and FAA investigators have expressed concern for our tower personnel on duty, who have an increased level of stress while also having a front row view of the accident recovery,” Timothy Arel, chief operating officer of the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization, said in the email. The change will reduce risk and allow for additional coordination, he said.
Feb. 5 investigative update for the Jan. 29 mid-air collision near DCA: https://t.co/C01PwrsmIF — NTSB Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) February 6, 2025
The agency later said in a Feb. 6 statement that it was slowing traffic in and out of Reagan airport because of weather conditions and ongoing recovery efforts after the crash.
Wreckage of the regional jet recovered from the Potomac River has been moved to a secure location for further examination, the NTSB said in an update Feb. 5. Recovery personnel are also working on retrieving the Black Hawk from the water.
Lawmakers Briefed
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said he’s asked the FAA to review helicopter routes at other airports in the U.S. “to determine where there are risks of a similar such collision.” The Texas Republican said the FAA agreed to conduct that review. The regulator didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Cruz
Cruz and other members of the panel were briefed Feb. 6 about the status of the crash investigation by representatives of the Army, FAA and NTSB.
“We ought to be looking and seeing whether there are similar kinds of circumstances in other places,” Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) told reporters after the briefing.
Moran said the FAA vowed to inform the Senate Commerce Committee if it changes its policy toward helicopter flights near Reagan airport. The Transportation Department said last week that it would revisit the recent restrictions on helicopter traffic after the NTSB completes the initial phase of its probe into the crash.
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