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Close Call with Passenger Jet Happened After Army Helicopter Tried to Land without Clearance, Preliminary Report Confirms

In May, an Army Black Hawk helicopter bound for the Pentagon came within less than half a mile of a Delta regional jet landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, forcing the jet to abort its landing.
The close call occurred after the helicopter crew tried to touch down at the Pentagon helipad without receiving authorization from the local air traffic controller and subsequently aborted the landing to circle for another approach.
The Black Hawk helicopter crew worked with Reagan National's air traffic controllers to create a landing sequence that inserted the helicopter between an American Airlines regional jet from Maine and two Delta flights, although some controllers were managing two roles simultaneously during the event.
On Friday, the National Transportation Safety Board published a preliminary report indicating that the helicopter and Delta jet came within four-tenths of a mile of each other at their closest point; however, the report did not draw conclusions regarding fault or the cause, with final results expected to take up to a year.
Medical helicopter executive Rick Dressler stated on behalf of his group that the 12th Aviation Battalion's operations raise discomfort in the community amid increased criticism of the US Army's aviation division following a deadly January 29 collision involving the same unit's Black Hawk helicopter that killed 67.

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Close call with passenger jet happened after Army helicopter tried to land without clearance, preliminary report confirms

A Pentagon-bound Army helicopter that got less than half a mile from a commercial flight landing at nearby Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in May did not have the proper clearance from Pentagon air traffic controllers, a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board said Friday.

4 days ago·Atlanta, United States

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