US airlines want less helicopter traffic near Washington airport

A group representing U.S. airlines plans to urge federal aviation officials to permanently reduce helicopter traffic around Reagan National Airport outside Washington, D.C., following a January collision by an Army Black Hawk into an American Airlines regional jet that killed 67 people. Airlines for America, in written testimony prepared for a U.S. House of Representatives hearing on Tuesday, calls on the Federal Aviation Administration to permanently suspend some helicopter routes near the airport with limited exceptions for essential military or medical emergencies. The testimony, seen by Reuters, also calls for military aircraft to be required to use a key safety system known as ADS-B near large airports in which aircraft determine and broadcast their position using satellite navigation to avoid collisions. Airlines for America represents American, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and other airlines. The FAA has temporarily barred most helicopters near the airport - located in Arlington, Virginia, across the Potomac River from the U.S. capital - since the crash pending a preliminary report due out this month from the National Transportation Safety Board. The Black Hawk, carrying a crew of three, collided with the airliner, carrying 64 passengers and crew members, on the night of January 29, with the wreckage plunging into the river. There were no survivors.<br/>