Black Hawk Lost Contact With Military Controllers for 20 Seconds

A misplaced antenna temporarily disrupted communications between military air traffic controllers and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport (DCA) on May 1, leading to two commercial aircraft being instructed to perform go-arounds. The branch has since grounded its helicopter operations at the Pentagon.

The incidents occurred less than four months after a fatal collision at DCA. 67 people were killed in the crash, involving a US Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Eagle CRJ700.

According to Brigadier General Matthew Braman, Director of Army Aviation, military controllers lost contact with the Black Hawk for approximately 20 seconds due to a temporary control tower antenna being placed in the wrong location. Although the helicopter was transmitting position data via its ADS-B Out system, the information was described as “inconclusive” and showed variations of up to three-quarters of a mile.

"It certainly led to confusion of air traffic control of where they were," Braman noted.

The antenna had been improperly installed during the construction of a new control tower. It has since been relocated to the Pentagon rooftop. Fortunately, the Army’s internal review determined the Black Hawk did not deviate from its approved flight path and was not at risk of intersecting with other traffic.

The helicopter, designated PAT 23, was flying to the Pentagon Army Heliport without passengers onboard. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board confirmed that a Delta Air Lines Airbus A319 and a Republic Airways Embraer E170 were ordered to go around as a precaution.

The Army attributed the first go-around to a sequencing issue by the DCA tower and the second to conflicting location data from older radar systems.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy responded to the incident on social media, criticizing the flight as unnecessary and calling for stricter limits on helicopter operations near the airport. “Safety must ALWAYS come first. We just lost 67 souls,” he wrote. “No more helicopter rides for VIPs or unnecessary training in a congested DCA airspace.”

FMI: www.army.mil