The Federal Aviation Bureau said that after a fatal collision involving the Army Helicopter on Wednesday, most helicopter access to the Ronal Dragan National Airport was closed.
Approximately 12 hours after the collision, the closing announced to the approved user in the airspace said that the helicopter access to the north and south of the airport was effectively closed. To discuss what was explained as a “eye -only” message from an airline.
Sean Duffy, a new chief of transportation, confirmed its closure on Friday and said it was an important step to enhance safety.
“Americans are completely confident in our aviation system, and today's action is an important step to restore that trust,” said Duffy.
The restriction end time was not provided.
The decision was made after the Army Black Hawk Helicopter collided with the American Airlines Jet on the way to the airport from Wichita, Kansas. There were no survivors.
This change blocks some of the two aerial helicopal routes commonly used by the military and the law execution pilot along the Potomax and the Anacostia River.
FAA restrictions exceptions to a helicopter flight that pays attention to the emergency emergency, a major government official, or a flight related to the national security mission.
Nevertheless, some aviation experts said that the closure was equivalent to the approval that the clogged airspace around Reagan could not be overcome. Transportation has long been a concern for the FAA and may have played a role in the death of 67 passengers and crew members in two aircraft.
Senator Tammy Duckworth, a member of the Illinois Democratic Party, who piloted a black hawk helicopter during the military career, explained that the reduction in interviews was “wise decision.”
New restrictions affect the two helicopal routes that have been traded. A section of about 4 miles of Route 1, which extends to the South Capitol Street on the Southern Capitol of the Anacostia River from the Potomax River Memorial Bridge. And from the Heins Point, which is the end of the river's peninsula, to the Potmac Woodl Wilson Bridge, the whole route 4, a 4 and a half miles.
The Army Helicopter, which collided with a private passenger aircraft, flew along the current section of Route 1 and turned to the Route 4 in the south of Hainz Points when a collision occurred.
In a new bleeding in the White House on Thursday, Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegoses, said that the helicopter dropped CRASH, along with the “standard corridor for continuing the government's mission” at night. “He said he was doing it.
Such flights include practicing to carry high -ranking officials from Washington DC to a safe place if the government is attacked so that the government can continue its functions.
According to the pilot receiving the FAA notification, these “government continuity” flights will almost certainly be an exception of “national security mission.”
The third helicopter flight route, Route 6, runs east and west on the airport. However, the route of the helicopter who received the e -mail said that the route was rarely used, and the closest section to Reagan is now closed on most helicopter traffic.
