The order comes after the National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday urgently pushed the FAA to permanently ban all helicopter operations near the airport when certain runways are in use, citing safety concerns.

The closure comes after crash investigators said there was a history of safety risks near the busy airport that had gone unaddressed.

The move follows federal investigators's call for a ban on helo flights on the route, citing a string of near misses in recent years.

Aviation officials on Friday announced permanent curbs on helicopter traffic near Reagan National Airport, the site of a collision involving an Army Black Hawk and American Airlines flight that killed 67 people in January.

Helicopters will be permanently restricted from flying near Washington, D.C.'s airport on the same route where a passenger jet and an Army helicopter collided in midair, killing 67 people, the Federal Aviation Administration said Friday.

Helicopters will be prohibited from flying along a popular route near Washington, D.C.'s airport where a passenger jet and an Army helicopter collided in a midair crash that killed 67 people, the Fede