DOD Halts Helicopter Flights Near Pentagon

Suspension comes after two airliners were forced into a go-around after one Black Hawk took a ‘scenic route.’

Ryan Ewing

Monday, May 05, 2025 at 03:36 PM ET

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Ryan Ewing

A Black Hawk helicopter over Washington. [Credit: Nicholas Priest/U.S. Air Force]

Key Takeaways:

The Department of Defense has suspended helicopter training flights in the Washington, D.C. region near the Pentagon, specifically for the Army's 12th Aviation Battalion.
This suspension follows an incident where two commercial flights at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (KDCA) were forced to go-around to avoid a Black Hawk helicopter operating under the Priority Air Transport (PAT) call sign.
The pause in flights comes just days after the Army had resumed training following a deadly midair collision in January involving a Black Hawk helicopter from the same unit and call sign.
The FAA reported that the Black Hawk crew involved in the recent close calls did not follow published procedures and instead took a "scenic route."

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The Department of Defense is suspending helicopter training flights in the Washington, D.C., region, specifically near the Pentagon. This change comes just days after the Army resumed training flights in the area following January’s deadly midair collision between a Black Hawk and American Eagle CRJ-700.

On Thursday, two separate commercial flights—operated by Republic Airways and Delta Air Lines—were forced to go-around while on approach to Runway 19 at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (KDCA).