Trump’s proposed 250-foot ‘triumphal arch’ likely poses no risk to aviation, FAA says
By Aleena Fayaz, CNN
(CNN) — The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday said President Donald Trump’s proposed 250-foot “triumphal arch” less than two miles from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport would likely pose no risks to air travel but recommended red obstruction lights be added.
The FAA released a feasibility study concluding that the arch would have “no significant adverse effect on airspace and visual/instrument procedures” at Reagan National, one of the busiest airports in the nation just outside of Washington, DC. However, evaluators determined that because of how tall Trump wants to build the arch, it would need “to be lit with red obstruction lights.”
The FAA noted in the report that it is a “limited review” and a full aeronautical study would be required prior to construction. The Trump administration had requested the feasibility study for the structure, which would be built in a patch of grass at the end of Memorial Bridge, across from the Lincoln Memorial.
The request for review submitted by the National Parks Service notes that the total height of the structure will be 279 feet when the site elevation beneath the arch itself is considered.
FAA regulations require structures that exceed 200 feet and are positioned at a site that potentially interferes with airspace be subject to a review. The FAA has said it aims to complete these types of reviews within 45 to 90 days – but they typically take far longer, up to nine months.
Pilots must already navigate various hazards as they descend or ascend through the “north approach” flight path that requires them to swing to avoid close encounters with the Pentagon, the Washington Monument and other DC landmarks.
The addition of Trump’s arch will further complicate flying through the corridor, which has been the site of high-profile and much scrutinized accidents, including last year’s midair collision between an American Airlines plane and a Black Hawk helicopter and a 1982 crash into the 14th Street Bridge upon takeoff.
Plans for the structure are supposed to be approved by the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission, two government agencies that oversee federal building in Washington.
As with many projects Trump has proposed, such as the construction of a new ballroom at the White House and the renaming of the Kennedy Center, insiders fear that the panels, which the president has stacked with loyalists, will approve the arch with little regard of risks.
The National Capital Planning Commission voted Thursday to advance the project, but did not vote on final approval.
CNN’s Sunlen Serfaty contributed to this report.
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