By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Army will curtail VIP military helicopter flights around the Pentagon after safety concerns were raised following the January 29 fatal collision of a Black Hawk helicopter with an American Airlines passenger jet near Reagan airport, a senator said on Wednesday.
Senator Jerry Moran, a Republican who chairs an aviation subcommittee, told reporters that the Army will limit training missions near Reagan Washington National Airport and limit the number of senior military and defense officials who can use helicopters for transport.
The Federal Aviation Administration in early May barred the Army from training or priority transport flights around the Pentagon after a May 1 close call that forced two civilian planes to abort landings. The FAA is currently negotiating a memorandum with the Army to govern future military flights near commercial planes near Reagan, the FAA’s acting administrator, Chris Rocheleau, told reporters.
“We’re working very closely with the Army,” Rocheleau said.
The FAA, the National Transportation Safety Board and the Army briefed senators on Wednesday on Washington airspace issues.
Moran said that before January 29 the Army was ferrying three-star generals and above, but that now only the defense secretary and a limited number of other senior officials will be eligible when the Army resumes flights.
“The number of flights, Army flights in that airspace, potential airspace has really been limited, and that’s in my view a great development,” Moran said. The Army’s air “safety protocols are not as stringent as commercial aircraft,” he added, saying he wants to see improvements.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy previously criticized the use of helicopters by generals for convenience. “Get a damn Suburban and drive – you don’t need to take a helicopter,” Duffy said.
Another question is whether a key safety system known as ADS-B, or automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast, is working on most Army helicopters.
Moran said testing shows the system is not working on other military aircraft and ADS-B was not in operation in the helicopter that crashed on January 29.
ADS-B is an advanced surveillance technology that transmits an aircraft’s location. Civilian aircraft must use it but the FAA in 2019 gave the military an exemption in rare circumstances. The FAA in March mandated its use on flights around Reagan.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Leslie Adler)
