Writer

Amy Wilder

The FAA has issued an <a href="https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/trumps-transportation-secretary-formalizes-permanent-restrictions-aircraft-reagan-national">interim final rule</a> permanently restricting the operation of helicopters and powered lift in the vertical-lift flight mode in a defined area of airspace near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (KDCA). This formalizes measures temporarily enacted after the fatal Jan. 29, 2025 midair collision over the Potomac River.
<a href="https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2026-01226.pdf">Published in the Federal Register</a> on Friday, the rule adds a new subpart to FAR Part 93 and prohibits helicopters and powered-lift aircraft operating in vertical-lift mode from flying in a designated area between the Memorial Bridge, Hains Point, and the Wilson Bridge unless conducting an essential operation. According to the rule, the restrictions are intended “to mitigate the potential for midair collisions resulting from insufficient separation between fixed-wing aircraft operating to or from KDCA and helicopters or powered-lift operating in the vertical-lift flight mode near KDCA.”
The FAA said the interim final rule fully implements an urgent safety recommendation issued by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) following the fatal collision between a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines Flight 5342. <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aerospace/2025-03-12/ntsb-issues-urgent-safety-recommendations-faa-kdca">Issued in March 2025</a>,&nbsp;that recommendation called for permanently prohibiting helicopter operations on Route 4 when Runways 15 and 33 are in use. The NTSB cited close-proximity events between helicopters and airplanes at KDCA over several years.
Under the new rule, essential operations are narrowly defined and include lifesaving medical missions, active law enforcement responses, active national security operations, continuity activities for the federal government, and transportation of the president or vice president. Routine training flights, proficiency checks, and non-essential personnel transport are explicitly excluded. The FAA stated that “essential helicopter operations in this area should be exceedingly rare.”
When an essential operation must occur within the restricted area, air traffic control will manage airplane traffic to reduce collision risk. In October, the FAA <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2025-10-06/faa-publishes-new-dc-area-helicopter-route-charts">updated helicopter route charts</a> for the Washington, D.C. area, eliminating Route 4 north of the Wilson Bridge and revising other routes and zones near KDCA, Washington Dulles International Airport (KIAD), and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (KBWI), foreshadowing the permanent restrictions.
The FAA adopted the rule without prior notice and comment, citing good cause due to the unacceptable safety risk posed by allowing temporary flight restrictions to lapse. However, the agency is accepting public comments and will consider them before issuing a final rule.
This interim final rule replaces a series of temporary flight restrictions imposed after the crash and makes those limitations permanent. According to the FAA, the rule is unlikely to impose more than minimal additional costs on operators and said the safety benefits outweigh any economic impact.

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