The Federal Aviation Administration has imposed permanent restrictions on non-essential helicopter operations around the Washington, D.C., airport where an Army chopper collided with a commercial jet

The transportation secretary’s decision came after the National Transportation Safety Board cited a long history of near collisions between helicopters and airplanes near the nation’s capital.

Helicopter traffic should be permanently banned near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport during certain periods to alleviate congestion and avoid a repeat of the deadly midair collision that occurred there in January,