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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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FAA head pledges no rollback of D.C. airspace safety measures amid defense bill fight

By The Associated Press and ARLnow.com
FILE - Salvage crews work on recovering wreckage near the site in the Potomac River of a mid-air collision between an American Airlines jet and a Black Hawk helicopter at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

The head of the Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday he won’t allow operations in the airspace over the nation’s capital to revert back to the way they were before January’s deadly aircraft collision near Reagan National Airport.

Administrator Bryan Bedford told the House aviation subcommittee he won’t forget the 67 people who died when an airliner collided with an Army helicopter over the Potomac River.

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DEVELOPING: Major delays at Reagan National Airport amid flight cuts

By ARLnow.com and The Associated Press
Plane at Reagan National Airport (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Reagan National Airport is “expecting significant delays and cancellations through this evening due to air traffic reductions.”

The airport urged those with flight reservations “to monitor their flight status closely with their airline,” according to a social post Friday afternoon. As of 5 p.m., the FAA listed average flight delays of four hours at Reagan National, attributing the delays to “staffing” issues.

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NEW: Reagan National and Dulles are among the airports set for flight cuts

By The Associated Press and ARLnow.com
The departures lanes at Reagan National Airport (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Reagan National Airport and Dulles International Airport are among the 40 that will see flights cut starting Friday due to the government shutdown, according to a list distributed to the airlines.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced Wednesday that it would reduce air traffic by 10% across 40 “high-volume” markets to maintain travel safety as air traffic controllers exhibit signs of strain during the ongoing government shutdown.

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New FAA charts further limit where helicopters can fly over Arlington

By Dan Egitto
A helicopter in the sky over Arlington (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

New route charts from the Federal Aviation Administration further restrict helicopter traffic around Reagan National Airport, reducing where the aircraft can fly over Arlington.

The modified charts, published last week, shrink the zones in which helicopters can fly over Northern Virginia and D.C. when operating on authorized business such as medical or law enforcement missions. A portion of the zone in Arlington, which previously extended to Fort Myer in the east, has been pushed back to west of Glebe Road.

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Don’t worry about that low-flying helicopter near the Alexandria border, Arlington County says

By ARLnow.com
Low-flying helicopter over Four Mile Run (staff photo by James Cullum)

A helicopter flying at a low altitude over the Arlington-Alexandria border is nothing to worry about, according to Arlington County.

“The Arlington County Emergency Communications Center has received many calls regarding a low flying helicopter along Four Mile Run Creek,” the county said in an Arlington Alert this morning. “The FAA is aware and has given permission for a contractor to conduct this flight.”

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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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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
Blue Jay in the fall (Flickr pool photo by Michael Coffman)

Route 1 Project Now Mostly Funded — “Virginia is making a huge financial commitment to the transformation of U.S. Route 1 as it runs through Crystal City, fulfilling a key promise officials made to Amazon.com Inc. to lure the tech giant to Arlington. The Commonwealth Transportation Board, a panel that manages state transportation funding and policy, voted unanimously Wednesday to allocate $134.4 million to fund the highway’s overhaul through 2028. The project, designed to bring at least some portion of the newly renamed Richmond Highway down to grade and make it more friendly to pedestrians, has a total estimated price tag of roughly $180 million.” [Washington Business Journal]

FAA Says Proposed HQ2 ‘Helix’ Is Okay — “The Federal Aviation Administration has no issue with the height of Amazon.com Inc.’s proposed Helix, the towering conical structure that will be a major part of HQ2’s PenPlace phase, closing the book on questions raised by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.” [Washington Business Journal]

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Biden Wins Virginia — “Virginia voters have overwhelmingly given former Vice President Joe Biden a sizable win over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in Tuesday’s primary election. According to unofficial state election returns, Biden has been called the winner of the state with 53.3 percent of what was a record primary turnout, and will capture the largest share of its 99 delegates.” [Patch, Washington Post]

Bernie Underperforms 2016 — In the two-way race between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in 2016, Sanders captured 33% of the vote in Arlington. Yesterday, he received 19% of the vote, a close third to Elizabeth Warren at 20%.

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Beyer Urges Trump to Strike Immigration Deal With Democrats, End Government Shutdown

By Alex Koma
Rep. Don Beyer (file photo)

As President Trump weighs the extraordinary step of declaring a national emergency to unilaterally build a wall along the southern border, Rep. Don Beyer (D-8th District) is urging Trump to return to the negotiating table and put federal employees back to work.

Like any member of Congress representing the D.C. suburbs, Beyer is no great fan of government shutdowns, which threaten the livelihoods of thousands of constituents in his Arlington and Alexandria-area district. But this latest, 18-day shutdown (now the second longest in the country’s history) is testing Beyer’s patience more than most.

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