By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Federal Aviation Administration said on Thursday it may ban the Pentagon from transporting government officials on routine missions around Reagan Washington National Airport, after a series of incidents involving passenger jets.
"Everything is on the table right now in our review to make sure that we keep a safe environment for the vicinity around DCA," said Franklin McIntosh, the FAA’s deputy head of air traffic control at a U.S. House of Representatives hearing, adding there are conversations with the Pentagon "about possible restrictions." DCA is the code for Reagan airport.
The U.S. Army said on May 5 it was suspending helicopter flights in the vicinity of the Pentagon after two passenger airline flights were forced to abort landings at Reagan because a Black Hawk helicopter was flying nearby.
"I am very concerned about the amount of traffic that is coming out of the Pentagon," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at a separate Senate hearing on Thursday.
Duffy has been critical of the Pentagon’s use of helicopters to transport military officials. He also wants training missions to occur at less busy times.
On Wednesday, McIntosh said a hotline connecting the Pentagon and FAA air traffic controllers at Reagan Washington National Airport has been inoperable since March 2022.
On January 29, a Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) passenger jet near Reagan airport, killing 67 people.
McIntosh told the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday that the FAA would not allow the Pentagon to resume the helicopter flights until the hotline is fixed. He said the hotline was maintained by the Pentagon and the FAA had only recently learned it was out of service.
McIntosh said Pentagon officials are at FAA headquarters on Thursday holding meetings.
The Army’s 12th Aviation Battalion has temporarily halted flights in and around the Pentagon while it determines what happened during the May 1 flight. The battalion is the Army unit responsible for such flights.