Transportation secretary criticized Pentagon over helicopter causing disturbance at Ronald Reagan National Airport: 'Unacceptable'

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy criticized the Pentagon over a Black Hawk helicopter that caused a disturbance at Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA). Duffy called the situation "unacceptable," in which a helicopter chose to deviate from its usual route, causing two commercial airliners to have to delay landing and divert their route.

The aerial inconvenience occurred last Thursday, when a Pentagon helicopter decided to take a "scenic route," designed to offer commanding views during flight, thus deviating from its original path to the DCA helipad. This decision resulted in two planes with passengers having to delay their landing, known as a missed approach.

Chris Senn, deputy administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), wrote an e-mail accessed by Politico in which he called the incidents a "loss of separation," which occurs when the distance between two aircraft is less than the minimum allowable separation.

The situation touched on a sensitive issue, given that it occurred three months after the tragic accident between an Army helicopter and an airliner, which left 67 people dead. This deadly accident remains under investigation and was the first of this nature in almost two decades.

"Take a taxi or Uber"

Secretary Duffy lamented the situation on his social media, where he promised to contact the Department of Defense "to ask why the hell our rules were disregarded."

"Safety must ALWAYS come first. We just lost 67 souls! No more helicopter rides for VIPs or unnecessary training in a congested DCA airspace full of civilians. Take a taxi or Uber - besides most VIPs have black car service," he added on his X account.

Duffy was not the only high-profile official who criticized what happened. Many members of Congress also voiced concerns about air safety.

One of them was Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who also chose X to show his displeasure: "I believe it’s time for the FAA to act swiftly and assert control over the national airspace so the Army stops running air taxis for military officials near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport."

Another was Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS), who suggested subpoenaing aviation officials to Congress for explanations.

"The Army and FAA need to reevaluate their operations and return to Capitol Hill to explain what needs to be done to make certain the DCA airspace is safe. We already had a tragedy that should not have happened," the Kansas Republican wrote.