The FAA is making significant changes at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after the National Transportation Safety Board urged “immediate action” to improve safety in the wake of a fatal midair collision in January.
The regulator on Friday said it will eliminate traffic between helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft and permanently ban all “nonessential” helicopter operations at KDCA. Urgent helicopter missions—such as those carrying life-saving medical equipment, “priority” law enforcement, or the president—will still be permitted. But the FAA will keep rotorcraft “specific distances away from airplanes” and bar the simultaneous use of runways 15/33 and 4/22 when they enter KDCA airspace. The former was the passenger jet’s intended landing site.
