Helicopter traffic around D.C. airport changed after fatal midair collision – National [Video]

The Federal Aviation Administration said on Friday it is imposing permanent restrictions on non-essential helicopter operations around Washington’s Reagan National Airport and eliminating helicopter and passenger jet mixed traffic.

The FAA is permanently closing one key route and evaluating alternative helicopter routes after the National Transportation Safety Board this week made two urgent safety recommendations following the January 29 mid-air collision of an American Airlines AAL.O regional jet and an Army helicopter that killed 67 people.

The FAA will also prohibit use of two smaller runways at the airport when helicopters conducting urgent missions are operating near the airport.

In the aftermath of the crash, the FAA temporarily barred most helicopters near the airport – located in Arlington, Virginia – until it could review the NTSB’s initial findings.

The NTSB cited the “intolerable risk” of collisions and noted that helicopters transiting near the airport at the maximum authorized altitude of 200 feet could have only about 75 …