WASHINGTON, D.C. — Two Army helicopters intruded into the airspace around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Jan. 28, 2025, triggering collision alarms aboard two separate inbound commercial flights, according to internal safety reports.

The first incident took place around 4:30 p.m., when a pair of Army helicopters approached the airport at a higher altitude than expected, causing confusion inside the control tower. At the time, an American Airlines flight from Norfolk was descending toward the airport. An alarm sounded in the cockpit of the American Airlines flight, instructing the pilot to climb to a higher altitude to avoid a potential collision with the helicopters.

Less than four hours later, an Army helicopter again approached the airport as a commercial flight from Connecticut with about 80 seats was preparing to land. A collision alarm sounded in the cockpit of that flight as well, and the crew aborted its landing. Both flights ultimately landed safely, according to internal safety reports.

The incidents occurred in airspace where commercial planes and helicopters were routed into a narrow corridor over the Potomac River near the airport. Helicopter training flights were also conducted in that corridor. Restricted airspace in the area protects the White House, the U.S. Capitol, and other government buildings, further constraining available flight paths.

Between 2021 and 2024, there were 85 near-midair collisions between helicopters and commercial aircraft in the area, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. Air traffic controllers had warned the Federal Aviation Administration for more than a decade that the tempo of passenger jets combined with heavy military, police, and hospital helicopter traffic posed safety risks.

Tim Lilley, a former Army pilot with 20 years of experience flying helicopter routes in the Washington, D.C., area, is now advocating for changes to airspace safety near the airport. "But those training environments, they should be nowhere near commercial airliners," Lilley said.

Reagan National is owned by the federal government, and the number of daily flights is determined by Congress. Since 2000, Congress has approved at least 50 additional daily flights at the airport, including 10 more approved in 2024. The airport handles 25 million passengers annually, which is 10 million more than its intended capacity, according to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.

The airport has three short runways, none of which are parallel. Runway 1 is the busiest runway in the United States, handling more than 800 flights per day, according to the airports authority.