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News

House fails to pass bill requiring aircraft locator systems after deadly Potomac midair collision

By The Associated Press
Family members of the people who were killed in the midair collision near Washington Reagan National Airport watch a video before a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing at Capitol Hill, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

The House failed to approve a bill Tuesday that was crafted after last year’s tragic midair collision near Washington D.C. to require all aircraft flying around busy airports to have key locator systems to prevent such crashes. The collision of an airliner and an Army helicopter killed 67 people.

The National Transportation Safety Board has been recommending such Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast systems to be installed since 2008. The bill that already passed the Senate would have required aircraft to be equipped with a system that can receive data about the locations of other aircraft. The complementary ADS-B Out system that broadcasts an aircraft’s location is already required.

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News

Sens. Warner and Kaine promise bill to reduce flights at Reagan National

By Scott McCaffrey
Boats and the U.S. Park Police helicopter search the Potomac River the morning after the mid-air collision and crash (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Virginia’s two U.S. senators say they will try again to reduce air traffic and take other steps to address safety concerns at Reagan National Airport.

Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine are throwing their support behind the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) final report into the January 2025 midair collision near the airport

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News

Grieving families press Congress on aviation safety reforms after midair collision

By The Associated Press
An airplane takes off behind the control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, on the anniversary of the Potomac River mid-air collision between an American Airlines passenger plane and an Army Blackhawk helicopter, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Key senators and the families of the 67 dead in an airliner collision with an Army helicopter near the nation’s capital are convinced that advanced aircraft locator systems recommended by experts for nearly two decades would have prevented last year’s tragedy.

But it remains unclear if Congress will pass a bill requiring every plane and helicopter to use them around every busy airport.

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News

FAA is making the rules imposed after an airliner collided with an Army helicopter permanent

By The Associated Press
Boats and the U.S. Park Police helicopter search the Potomac River the morning after the mid-air collision and crash (staff photo by James Jarvis)

The temporary rules imposed after last year’s collision of an airliner and an Army helicopter to improve the safety of the crowded airspace around Washington D.C. are being made permanent, the government announced Thursday.

The Federal Aviation Administration took steps to make sure that helicopters and airplanes would no longer share the same airspace around Reagan National Airport shortly after the investigation into the Jan. 29 crash began. The rules also prohibit air traffic controllers from relying on visual separation and require all military aircraft to broadcast their locations.

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News

Plan to keep DCA’s ‘Fly Quiet’ effort in-house draws flak from regional noise panel

By Scott McCaffrey
An airplane takes off from Reagan National Airport (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

A decision to keep noise-mitigation efforts at Reagan National Airport in-house, rather than outsource them to independent experts, is drawing criticism from an advisory panel.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (WMAA) announced its decision on “Fly Quiet” efforts at the Oct. 23 meeting of the Reagan National Community Working Group, which works to reduce the impacts of noise from airport operations.

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News

Just-passed FAA bill has more DCA flights and D.C. area helicopter noise analysis

By ARLnow.com
A Delta flight at the gate at Reagan National Airport (staff photo)

More long-haul flights are coming to Reagan National Airport. And people annoyed by helicopter noise will continue to have their voice heard.

Those are two of the main local impacts from the FAA reauthorization bill just approved by Congress. The bill now awaits President Biden’s signature.

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News

Big flyover and DCA ground stop planned Saturday

By ARLnow.com
An airplane flies above Rosslyn in 2021 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

A large-scale flyover planned for Saturday is expected to bring some air traffic at National Airport to a temporary halt.

Two dozen groups of general aviation aircraft are expected to fly from Frederick, Maryland, down the Potomac River and across the National Mall. The Mall flyover is scheduled to take place between noon and 1 p.m.

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Around Town

Expect low-flying aircraft, smoke and noise Wednesday morning

By ARLnow.com
Blue Angels/Thunderbirds flyover in 2020 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Don’t be alarmed if the sky over Arlington fills with low-flying aircraft and smoke tomorrow morning.

Arlington National Cemetery says residents can expect U.S. Air Force aircraft performing “low-level aerial demonstrations, which will produce smoke and noise.” The flyover will take place around 9 a.m. Wednesday.

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News

Beyer airplane noise bill becoming law as part of CHIPS Act

By ARLnow.com
An airplane overhead, as seen from Gravelly Point (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) is addressing a key constituent concern — airplane noise — through the just-signed CHIPS Act.

The $280 billion bill is primarily focused on boosting domestic semiconductor manufacturing, but contains other scientific research provisions. Among them is wording from Beyer to “bolster NASA’s efforts to reduce emissions from the aviation industry while also reducing the impact of airplane noise in airport-adjacent communities.”

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News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
Along Columbia Pike at twilight (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Dispute Leads to Violence, Vehicular Mayhem — “The victim pulled the suspect out of the vehicle and he pushed her, causing her to fall to the ground. A security guard intervened and separated the parties. The suspect then reentered his vehicle, described as a white van, and fled the scene. While fleeing, the suspect allegedly struck the victim’s vehicle, a sign on the property, and drove towards the security guard, causing him to dive out of the way.” [ACPD]

Beyer Wants Quieter Airplanes — “As the representative for the area around Reagan National Airport, one of the most common concern heard by Rep. Don Beyer is airplane noise. On Friday, Beyer is reintroducing the Cleaner, Quieter Airplanes Act to seek study on reducing airplane noise and emissions.” [Patch]

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News

County officials are not optimistic feds will get on board with aircraft noise recommendations

By Matt Blitz
Visitors to Gravelly Point watch as an airplane comes in for a landing at Reagan National Airport (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated, 4:05 p.m.) As a new aircraft noise study comes in for a landing, Arlington officials admit there remains little the county can actually do about the noise above.

“I know how frustrating this is. I think people don’t understand how little power we actually have,” says Arlington County Board member Libby Garvey. “We really have almost zip.”

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