The Daily Caller conducted an in-depth report review of public documents, finding “Washington’s Reagan National Airport (DCA) has suffered countless near misses between aircrafts over the last few decades, many reported by pilots themselves.” Nonetheless, “the FAA has done little to solve” the concerns.
In the days following the deadly crash at DCA involving an American Airlines passenger jet and a military helicopter, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) temporarily prohibited mixed helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft operations over the Potomac River near the airport. However, recent FAA guidance has eased restrictions, permitting certain emergency helicopters to fly near the Washington, D.C., airport while requiring civilian planes to pause when these aircraft are present.
Despite this change, helicopters and airplanes have been flying in dangerously close proximity to one another near DCA for years, the Daily Caller has found. This has often forced pilots to take evasive action to prevent collisions. Pilots have been voicing their concerns through an anonymous public database, yet little action was taken until last month’s tragic incident.
“The ongoing helicopter conflict at DCA is a disaster waiting to happen,” a frustrated pilot reported following a near-miss in January 2016.
This issue has become so prevalent that pilots began believing their complaints would not lead to any changes. Some even started considering these near misses as an inevitable risk of flying into and out of DCA. A commercial pilot, who requested anonymity, warned, “Complacency can be deadly.”
Public records, including reports from the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS), document aviation concerns reported by pilots and air traffic controllers. These reports, spanning from 1988 to 2025, aim to notify relevant authorities who can investigate and determine necessary actions.
A review of self-reported airborne conflicts near DCA revealed 220 such incidents between 1988 and 2025, with 30 specifically involving helicopters and airplanes—an almost yearly occurrence. Comparatively, Dulles International Airport recorded 181 similar incidents in the same timeframe, but only five involved both helicopters and airplanes.
Michael Pearson, a former air traffic controller and training instructor, explained the significance of these reports: “Pilots usually submit them after a terrifying experience. If they take the time to file an ASRS report, it means they are truly concerned.”
Many of these near-miss reports cite a lack of communication between air traffic control (ATC) and pilots. Some pilots reported receiving no warning about helicopters flying just beneath their aircraft during landings.
“While on approach over the Potomac, ATC never informed us about the helicopter traffic directly below,” a pilot reported in January 2022.
Others noted that they were only informed about the near misses after the fact, when avoiding action had already been taken.
“After making a correction to avoid the collision, we were then notified by DCA tower about the close traffic. But at that point, it would have been too late,” a pilot recalled from an incident in July 2015.
Some reports detail helicopters climbing significantly higher than their designated altitude, bringing them within just 200 feet of airplanes.
Even helicopters transporting high-ranking officials have been involved in near misses. In May 2017, a report documented an unsafe situation involving a VIP transport aircraft. While it was not confirmed if Vice President Mike Pence was aboard at the time, the aircraft was reportedly en route to the Naval Observatory.
Air traffic controllers have also raised concerns about coordination issues during presidential movements. One controller from the Potomac Consolidated TRACON expressed frustration over planes being cleared for takeoff while a presidential aircraft was nearby, describing the situation as dangerously uncoordinated.
DCA is considered one of the most challenging airports for pilots due to its congested airspace, short runways, restricted zones, and approaches over water. Many pilots have expressed frustration over the risks posed by helicopters operating close to descending aircraft.
“I don’t understand why helicopters are allowed to cross so close to commercial airliners carrying hundreds of passengers. They should be rerouted between arrivals,” a pilot wrote in 2013 after nearly colliding with a helicopter at just 200 feet apart.
Several reports reviewed indicated that pilots often found themselves within mere feet of helicopters while approaching DCA. Some of these near misses occurred on Runway 33—the same runway where last month’s American Airlines crash took place. According to The Washington Post, aircraft approaching Runway 33 pass within 15 feet of the top of the Route 4 helicopter corridor.
“Helicopters should not be allowed to operate that close to descending airplanes,” Pearson told reporters.
A March 2015 incident report describes an airplane and helicopter coming dangerously close as the plane lined up to land on Runway 33. The pilot, noticing the helicopter climbing unexpectedly, chose to abort the landing even before an alert was issued.
Upon landing on an alternate runway, the pilot learned from the tower supervisor that helicopters in that area should never exceed 200 feet. However, in this case, the helicopter had climbed to 800 feet, putting it directly in the path of the descending aircraft. The pilot was forced to climb to 2,000 feet to avoid a collision.
“The ATC may have lost track of the helicopter momentarily because they never expected it to deviate that drastically,” the report stated.
In another report from 2015, a pilot described how ATC failed to inform them about another aircraft in their path until the plane was just 400 feet off the ground, forcing immediate evasive action to prevent a midair collision.
“We were only alerted to the close traffic after we had already taken action. By then, it would have been too late if we hadn’t reacted quickly,” the pilot recounted.
A May 2013 report detailed a similar incident on Runway 33, where a helicopter unexpectedly turned into the flight path of an approaching airplane, forcing the plane’s captain to make a sharp maneuver to avoid a crash.
Pearson highlighted a major contributing factor to these near misses: the inability of military and commercial pilots to communicate directly, as they operate on different radio frequencies.
“Military and civilian pilots can’t always hear each other. That lack of shared situational awareness increases the risk,” a commercial pilot explained.
Many reports cited difficulties in understanding helicopter pilots, even when they were on the same frequency. Others pointed to the high-pressure environment of DCA, where controllers must move aircraft quickly in and out, contributing to dangerous situations.
“DCA is probably the most dangerous airport in the U.S. because controllers are under constant pressure to keep traffic moving,” a major airline captain wrote in 2015.
Concerns about the lack of separation between aircraft and helicopters date back to at least 1988. Pilots have long criticized DCA’s operational procedures, questioning why non-standard separation remains common practice.
“Nowhere else in the U.S. does this type of operation seem acceptable,” a pilot wrote in 2006, after coming within 200 feet of two helicopters during a landing.
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