The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating another incident involving commercial aircraft and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington D.C.
The NTSB posted on social media Friday that it was looking into the incident that occurred on Thursday. The post stated that a Delta Airbus A319 and a Republic Embraer E170 were told to perform go-arounds while the helicopter traveled to the Pentagon.
The Federal Aviation Administration told AirlineGeeks in an emailed statement that the incident occurred around 2:30 p.m. local time on Thursday due to a “priority air transport helicopter” entering the area.
“Air traffic control instructed Delta Air Lines Flight 1671 and Republic Airways Flight 5825 to perform go-arounds at the Reagan Washington National Airport due to a Priority Air Transport helicopter inbound to the Pentagon Army Heliport,” the FAA stated. “The FAA and NTSB are investigating the event that occurred around 2:30 p.m. local time on Thursday, May 1. The NTSB will lead the investigation and provide any updates.”
According to ADS-B data on Flightradar24, the Delta flight was arriving from Orlando, and initiated a go-around at around 700 feet. It is unclear how close the aircraft were to each other.
The Republic flight was arriving from Boston.
CNN reported that the Black Hawk crew “did not proceed directly to the Pentagon” and instead “took a scenic route around,” per the FAA.
This incident comes just over four months after a Black Hawk helicopter – also operating under the Priority Air Transport callsign – collided with a PSA Airlines CRJ-700, killing all 67 people on both aircraft.
