The commercial aircraft had to alter their landing patterns this week at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after an Army helicopter took a “scenic” route to the Pentagon. File Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo
May 3 (UPI) — Two commercial aircraft scheduled to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport on Thursday afternoon were forced to do “go-arounds” after a military helicopter allegedly took a scenic route to the Pentagon.
Delta Air Lines Airbus A319 and a Republic Airways Embraer E170 on Thursday were instructed by air traffic controllers to conduct go-arounds, which are maneuvers to abandon their planned landings and circle around for another approach.
The National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the incident along with the Federal Aviation Administration, said in a statement that the go-arounds were ordered because of a “U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter inbound to the Pentagon.”
The FAA, which identified the flights as Delta Air Lines Flight 1671 and Republic Airways Flight 5825, said the incident occurred around 2: 30 p.m. EST on Thursday. Flight data from FlightAware shows the planes were delayed less than ten minutes.
UPI has reached out to the FAA for a summary of the incident, which was obtained by the Washington Post and reportedly described the route the helicopter took as “scenic.”
In the summary, the FAA found that the military helicopter was not in airspace that was newly restricted after a commercial plane collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk near the airport mid-air earlier this year, killing 67 people.
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