Restrictions Ordered for Helicopters Near Reagan Airport After Plane Crash

The Federal Aviation Administration will adopt two urgent recommendations issued by a federal safety board to reduce and reroute helicopter traffic around Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C., after a midair crash of a passenger jet and an Army helicopter on Jan. 29 killed 67 people.

Sean Duffy, the U.S. transportation secretary, who oversees the F.A.A., announced the changes in a news conference on Tuesday. The recommendations included restricting a busy helicopter route running along the Potomac River that was used by the Army Black Hawk the night it collided with an American Airlines regional jet.

Mr. Duffy also said he spoke with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth earlier in the day about carving out an alternate route for military operations around the restricted air space at National Airport. There will be some exemptions for medical emergencies, law enforcement, and presidential and vice-presidential travel, Mr. Duffy said.

“We’re in a situation where we’re threading a needle allowing helicopters to fly down the same airspace as landing aircraft,” he said.

The announcement came hours after the National Transportation Safety Board made the recommendations, which were based in part on a review of data that found thousands of instances of airplanes and helicopters coming in close proximity of one another near the airport in recent years.

Jennifer Homendy, the board’s chairwoman, said at a news conference that the N.T.S.B. had also found that, from 2011 to 2024, an urgent airplane alert was triggered at least once a month, instructing pilots to take emergency action to avoid hitting nearby helicopters. Airline pilots are expected to follow the alerts, known as resolution advisories, over other commands, including air traffic control instructions.