Archive · 25 May 2025
Black Hawk Helicopter Briefly Off Radar Caused Aborted Landings
Imagine a military helicopter flying near the Pentagon.
Suddenly, it disappeared from the radar screen for a short time, like a game of hide-and-seek.
This happened because a temporary antenna wasn't set up correctly.
Because the helicopter vanished from radar, two big passenger planes that were about to land at a nearby airport had to stop and go around, just to be safe.
This caused a bit of worry, especially because there was a serious accident involving a military helicopter and a passenger plane in January.
The army is now working with the FAA, the air traffic controllers, to make sure something like this doesn't happen again.
A US Army Black Hawk helicopter briefly lost contact with air traffic control near the Pentagon.
The incident caused two commercial jets to abort their landings at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
The Black Hawk was off-radar for approximately 20 seconds.
A temporary control tower antenna's location contributed to the loss of contact.
The Army paused all flights in and out of the Pentagon after the incident.
- Who
- A US Army Black Hawk helicopter and two commercial jets, plus FAA personnel.
- What
- A Black Hawk helicopter lost contact with air traffic control.
- When
- May 1st
- Where
- Near the Pentagon and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
- Why
- A temporary control tower antenna was improperly placed, and FAA controllers also had issues tracking the helicopter.
- Aircraft Involved
- US Army Black Hawk helicopter
- Time Off Radar
- Approximately 20 seconds
- Incident Date
- May 1
- Airport Affected
- Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
- Number of Aborted Landings
- Two