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Controllers raised Marine One radio problems a week before DCA close call

Published August 27, 2026 at 5:30PM

President Donald Trump, left, walks from Marine One to board Air Force One, Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md., en route to South Carolina. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Air traffic controllers and the pilots of President Donald Trump’s helicopter met to discuss radio problems one week before a jet was allowed to take off from Reagan National Airport just as Marine One lifted off from the White House.

Controllers had reported not receiving the standard three-minute warning call ahead of Marine One flights, and both sides agreed to an alternative in those instances — but that plan, to relay the radio call through someone else, was also unsuccessful on the day of the Aug. 4 incident, the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report shows. The report was released Thursday.

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More flyovers planned this weekend after a dozen helicopters flew over Arlington today

By ARLnow.com

Published June 11, 2026 at 6:00PM | Updated June 11, 2026 at 8:06PM

Military helicopter flyover above Clarendon (staff photo by Jordan Ciminelli)

Expect more low-flying military aircraft over the next few days.

A number of flyovers are planned through Sunday, June 14, as the nation celebrates its 250th anniversary and President Donald Trump celebrates his 80th birthday with a UFC cage match on the White House grounds.

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

By The Associated Press

Published January 23, 2026 at 9:15AM

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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New FAA charts further limit where helicopters can fly over Arlington

By Dan Egitto

Published October 7, 2025 at 3:45PM

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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Plane had to abandon landing after close brush with helicopter near DCA, NTSB says

By Jared Serre

Published August 25, 2025 at 2:45PM

Ronald Reagan National Airport (staff photo by James Jarvis)

A commercial airliner had to abandon its landing at Reagan National Airport after a U.S. Army helicopter began to ascend above the Pentagon earlier this year, officials say.

The two aircraft experienced a “loss of separation” around 2:30 p.m. on May 1, coming less than half a mile from each other, according to a preliminary report that the National Transportation Safety Board released on Friday.

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Pentagon lost contact with Army helicopter on flight that caused jets to nix landings at DCA

By The Associated Press

Published May 23, 2025 at 11:00PM

This image provided by the U.S. Army shows a screenshot of data from the Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast, or ADS-B, of the flight path of Army Black Hawk "PAT23" on a May 1, 2025, flight that led to air traffic controllers aborting the landings of two commercial jets. (U.S. Army via AP)

By TARA COPP Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Military air traffic controllers lost contact with an Army helicopter for about 20 seconds as it neared the Pentagon on the flight that caused two commercial jets to abort their landings this month at a Washington airport, the Army told The Associated Press on Friday.

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Army helicopter flights suspended near DCA after more aborted airline landings

By Dan Egitto and The Associated Press

Published May 5, 2025 at 2:45PM | Updated May 5, 2025 at 7:16PM

A Black Hawk helicopter flies near the Pentagon on Thursday (via Dave Statter/X)

Helicopters flying near Reagan National Airport caused flight diversions yesterday (Sunday) and Thursday.

The first incident involved an Army Black Hawk helicopter taking a “scenic route around the Pentagon,” according to the Federal Aviation Administration. It caused two commercial aircraft to cancel landings and has drawn the ire of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

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Rep. Beyer backs permanent air traffic changes near National Airport

By Dan Egitto

Published March 24, 2025 at 2:30PM

Reagan National Airport (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Arlington’s congressman is throwing his support behind permanent flight traffic changes at Reagan National Airport following January’s fatal midair crash.

In a Friday letter, Rep. Don Beyer (D) and nine other lawmakers supported ending helicopter operations along the Potomac River between Hains Point and the Wilson Bridge when runways 15 and 33 are in use.

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Will better safety around National Airport mean more helicopters over Arlington?

By Dan Egitto

Published February 10, 2025 at 3:50PM

Reagan National Airport (staff photo by James Jarvis)

As safety restrictions tighten around Reagan National Airport, Arlington’s congressman is pushing to ensure this doesn’t mean more aircraft noise over residential areas.

Following last month’s fatal midair collision between a military helicopter and a commercial jet, the Federal Aviation Administration has announced new guardrails on flights around the airport.

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

By ARLnow.com

Published May 16, 2024 at 1:55PM

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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UPDATED: Police investigating shooting in Green Valley

By ARLnow.com

Published December 9, 2023 at 3:45PM | Updated December 10, 2023 at 10:53AM

Scene of shooting in Green Valley in December 2023 (courtesy Matthew Young)

A woman was shot this afternoon in the Green Valley neighborhood.

The shooting happened around 1 p.m., reportedly near the intersection of S. Kemper Road and S. Oxford Street. Photos taken afterward show a crime scene along nearby S. Four Mile Run Drive.

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NOW: Police searching for suspect after man with gun robs two people

By ARLnow.com

Published November 29, 2023 at 2:55PM | Updated November 29, 2023 at 3:43PM

File photo

Police are investigating back-to-back reported armed robberies in the Arlington Mill neighborhood.

The robberies happened around 2:30 p.m. on the 800 block of S. Frederick Street. Initial reports suggest that a masked man with a semiautomatic handgun separately robbed two people of cash.