In the aftermath of the fatal midair collision near Reagan National Airport, D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton is calling for new restrictions on military helicopter flights, including those transporting government officials in the capital region.
A total of 67 people were killed when an Army Black Hawk helicopter struck an American Airlines plane on Jan. 29.
In a May 16 letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Norton urged the Federal Aviation Administration to place new limits on helicopter flights near Reagan National Airport specifically, allowing them only for the president, vice president and “in the case of a national security emergency.”
She requested a response from Duffy by Friday.
“I agree with your May 2, 2025, statement on X that ‘Safety must ALWAYS come first. We just lost 67 souls! No more helicopter rides for VIPs or unnecessary training in a congested DCA airspace full of civilians. Take a taxi or Uber – besides most VIPs have black car service,'” Norton wrote.
Norton said she is also concerned that a large number of military aircraft flying near Reagan National are not using their ADS-B technology and, in the case of the Jan. 29 crash that killed 67 people, the ADS-B transponder was turned off, so the flight could not be tracked.
ADS-B technology is more precise than conventional radar, as it transmits a signal from the aircraft to other nearby aircraft, allowing pilots to track their location in real time.
Many aviation experts said that had the Black Hawk’s ADS-B unit been turned on and operational on Jan. 29, the crew of American Airlines 5342 would have had more information about the helicopter’s location and could have taken evasive action.
“I am deeply concerned that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is granting too many exceptions to the requirement that helicopters operating near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) use Extended Squitter Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) transponders,” Norton wrote.
“These transponders are critical to flight safety, particularly in crowded D.C. airspace,” Norton said in a Monday news release.
ADS-B technology broadcasts data to aircraft and air traffic control and will automatically alert other aircraft if another one is too close, giving them more time to take evasive action.
“Given the tragic midair collision near DCA involving a helicopter that was not using its ADS-B transponder and many near misses, I urge you to require all helicopters operating near DCA to use ADS-B transponders, except in the case of a national security emergency or the transport of the president and vice president,” Norton said in the news release.
‘Overly broad exceptions jeopardize the safety of the airspace,’ Norton says
Months after the deadly crash, Norton said there’s still confusion about the use of ADS-B technology in military aircraft operating in Reagan National airspace.
She said in 2023, the Defense Department responded to a request she made concerning the nonuse of ADS-B technology at the Army Aviation Brigade at Fort Belvoir in Fairfax County, Virginia, that showed the brigade executed all of its missions with the ADS-B units disabled.
In February, after fatal Jan. 29 midair collision, Norton said she received reports that ADS-B transponders were operational in Defense Department flights in the Reagan National Airport airspace.
But Norton now says that during a May 15 House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing, a FAA official testified the same categories of exceptions were in place as they were before the Jan. 29 crash, indicating to Norton there has been no change in policy.
“FAA Deputy Chief Operating Officer Franklin McIntosh said helicopter flights related to law enforcement, national security or the transport of government officials are not required to use ADS-B transponders near DCA. These overly broad exceptions jeopardize the safety of the airspace near DCA,” Norton said.
The National Transportation Safety Board is currently investigating the cause of the Jan. 29 crash, and is expected to issue a series of recommendations to improve aviation safety when it holds a hearing, which is not expected until sometime next year.
The NTSB already has issued new recommendations concerning tightening airspace rules around Reagan National and other airports, specifically relating to helicopter operations. The FAA has approved many of those recommendations.
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