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 near the Pentagon in the Washington D.C. region.
This suspension follows an incident where a Black Hawk helicopter forced two commercial flights at Reagan National Airport to go-around, with the helicopter crew reportedly not following published procedures.
The pause comes just days after the Army resumed these training flights, which had been previously halted after a deadly midair collision in January involving a Black Hawk from the same unit and call sign.

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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).