WASHINGTON — Federal aviation officials said Thursday they are expanding safety buffers around two Washington, D.C.-area airports, part of a broader effort to reduce collision risks between helicopters and passenger aircraft in one of the nation’s busiest air corridors.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that new routing adjustments will be introduced at Washington Dulles International Airport and Baltimore/Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport. The changes will create greater separation between rotary aircraft and commercial jets during takeoffs and landings.
“These new procedures are designed to add an extra layer of protection and improve spacing between helicopters and airplanes in the region,” the agency said in a statement.
The FAA also outlined updates for Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, including refined altitude rules and adjustments to its helicopter flight charts to make operational boundaries clearer for pilots.
The changes come in the aftermath of a Jan. 29 accident in which an American Airlines plane struck a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near the capital, killing 67 people. Investigators later determined the military helicopter had climbed beyond its authorized altitude before the crash.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), more than 15,200 separation conflicts have been reported since 2021 in the skies near Reagan National. Of those, at least 85 were categorized as near-misses.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and several members of Congress have pressed the FAA to act faster, criticizing the agency for moving slowly despite years of warnings from investigators and air traffic controllers.
In May, the FAA temporarily banned Army helicopters from Pentagon airspace following another close encounter that forced passenger jets to divert. Similar measures have been rolled out elsewhere, including new helicopter restrictions near Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas earlier this year, after safety concerns were raised about congested airspace.
The FAA has also evaluated traffic patterns at Los Angeles-area airports such as Burbank and Van Nuys, where helicopter and fixed-wing operations frequently intersect.
The agency has not given a firm date for when the new D.C. procedures will take effect, but pilots are expected to receive updated guidance in their operational charts once the rules are finalized. Safety groups say the changes are overdue but welcome.
Advocates argue that even small increases in spacing can significantly reduce the risk of catastrophic incidents. With the D.C. region hosting one of the densest concentrations of military and civilian aircraft in the country, the FAA’s adjustments will be closely watched to see if they improve safety without creating delays.
