FAA says Trump’s arch would not interfere with airplanes flying into DC’s national airport

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The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday said it has determined that President Donald Trump’s planned triumphal arch will not interfere with aircraft flying into the nearby Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, one of the busiest commercial flight corridors in the country.

The arch, which is expected to stand at around 250 feet, will have no “substantial adverse effect on the safe and efficient utilization of the navigable airspace,” the FAA wrote in their report.

Critics have condemned the arch over its massive size – it will loom over the nearby Lincoln Memorial – and its planned location, a traffic circle near a bridge that connects Washington, DC, with Virginia, and near the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery, which will block historically significant sight lines from the city into the cemetery.

Pilots have also expressed concern over the planned size of the arch given its proximity to Washington’s national airport. Even if the structure does not pose a direct safety threat in their flight paths, it is yet another obstacle that they will have to be aware of in a corridor that requires careful navigation around restricted airspaces and complex turns, some have told CNN.

The FAA report says the arch will be placed just within 4,000 feet from the airport.

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The report released Friday indicates that the planned structure just meets FAA standards for structures that may interfere with navigable airspace – in some cases, exceeding those standards by a little over 40 feet.

In June, the FAA released a preliminary feasibility study, concluding the arch would have “no significant adverse effect on airspace and visual/instrument procedures” at the airport.

However, evaluators determined at the time its height would mean it would need “to be lit with red obstruction lights” to help with flight safety.

The final go-ahead the FAA gave in its report on Friday is a significant – but not final – step in the president’s quest to break ground on the arch that he has said he envisions as the largest in the world.

The National Capital Planning Commission – one of two key federal agencies that reviews and approves major changes on government property in Washington, DC — has only given preliminary approval for the project.

Tammy Stidham, Associate Regional Director of Lands and Planning National Park Service, said the administration is eyeing the commission’s November meeting to give final approval.

The other agency, the Commission on Fine Arts, previously gave its final approval.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced on X in early September that his agency would start breaking ground for the excavation work in the upcoming two weeks.

That same day, government lawyers seemed to backtrack, saying in a court filing that week what’s currently planned is archeological survey work that’s needed to “ensure compliance with statutes such as the National Historic Preservation Act.”

The work would start no later than Sept. 21, and the land would be restored by Oct. 31, according to the filing.

“This activity is not construction, or demolition in preparation for construction, of an arch,” the lawyers said in the filing.

US Commission of Fine Arts

The analysis, known as a Section 106 review, which is required for agencies to consider how projects will affect historical properties, is still not completed. At the NCPC’s most recent meeting in early September, consulting parties expressed concern and said they were not yet ready to give their approval for the project.

Even so, the administration has signaled they intend to fast-track Section 106 approval by asking consulting parties to sign onto a draft Memorandum of Agreement that emerged earlier this week. At least one consulting party has said it will not do so.

The arch is separately being challenged in an ongoing court case by veterans and preservation groups.

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美国联邦航空管理局周五表示，已确定唐纳德·特朗普总统计划建造的凯旋门不会干扰飞往附近罗纳德·里根华盛顿国家机场的飞机，该机场是美国最繁忙的商业航班走廊之一。

美国联邦航空管理局在报告中写道，这座预计高达 250 英尺的拱门不会对“安全高效地利用可航行空域”产生“实质性的不利影响”。

批评人士谴责这座拱门规模庞大——它将耸立在附近的林肯纪念堂上方——而且其计划位置也十分不合理：位于连接华盛顿特区和弗吉尼亚州的桥梁附近的一个环岛，靠近阿灵顿国家公墓的入口，这将阻挡从城市到公墓具有历史意义的视线。

鉴于拱门距离华盛顿国家机场如此之近，飞行员们也对拱门的规划规模表示担忧。一些飞行员告诉CNN，即使该建筑不会对他们的飞行路线构成直接的安全威胁，但它仍然是他们在需要谨慎绕行限制空域和复杂转弯的航线上必须注意的另一个障碍。

美国联邦航空管理局的报告称，拱门将建在距离机场不到 4000 英尺的地方。

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/法新社/盖蒂图片社

周五发布的报告显示，计划建造的建筑物刚好符合美国联邦航空管理局关于可能干扰通航空域的建筑物的标准——在某些情况下，甚至超出这些标准 40 多英尺。

今年 6 月，美国联邦航空管理局发布了一项初步可行性研究，结论是该拱门不会对机场的空域和目视/仪表飞行程序产生“重大不利影响”。

然而，评估人员当时认定，它的高度意味着需要“安装红色障碍灯”以帮助保障飞行安全。

美国联邦航空管理局 (FAA) 周五发布的报告中最终批准了该项目，这对于总统来说是一个重要的步骤，但并非最终步骤，总统希望破土动工建造他设想中世界上最大的拱门。

国家首都规划委员会是负责审查和批准华盛顿特区政府财产重大变更的两个主要联邦机构之一，该委员会目前仅对该项目给予了初步批准。

国家公园管理局土地与规划副区域主任塔米·斯蒂德汉姆表示，政府正在关注委员会 11 月份的会议，以便做出最终批准。

另一个机构，即美术委员会，此前已给予最终批准。

内政部长道格·伯古姆在9月初通过X电视台宣布，他的部门将在接下来的两周内开始动工进行挖掘工作。

同一天，政府律师似乎改口，在当周提交的法庭文件中表示，目前计划开展的是考古调查工作，这是为了“确保遵守《国家历史保护法》等法规”。

根据提交的文件，工程最迟将于9月21日开始，土地将于10月31日之前恢复原貌。

律师在文件中表示：“这项活动并非建造拱门，也不是为建造拱门而进行的拆除工作。”

美国美术委员会

这项被称为“第106条审查”的分析尚未完成。该审查是各机构评估项目对历史建筑影响的必要程序。在9月初举行的国家历史保护委员会（NCPC）最近一次会议上，各方咨询意见表达了担忧，并表示尚未准备好批准该项目。

尽管如此，政府已发出信号，表示有意加快第106条的审批流程，并要求咨询方签署本周早些时候公布的谅解备忘录草案。至少有一家咨询方表示不会签署。

目前，退伍军人和文物保护团体正在就这座拱门提起诉讼，对其提出质疑。