FAA Recommends Red Obstruction Lights for Proposed Trump Tower Arch Near Reagan Airport

The Federal Aviation Administration indicated that the Trump administration’s proposal to erect a 259‑foot‑tall arch within a mile of Ronald Reagan National Airport would probably not jeopardize aviation safety.

Evaluators, however, suggested installing red, blinking obstruction lights akin to those on the Washington Monument — a standard precaution for large structures near airports.

“The hypothetical structure, at the heights listed above, would have no significant adverse effect on airspace” or navigation procedures around the airport, the evaluators wrote in a feasibility study released on Friday.

The FAA must still complete a formal assessment before the project proceeds, and it must receive approval from a regional planning commission; nevertheless, the Friday study suggests the agency will likely conclude that the arch does not pose a hazard, smoothing the way through bureaucratic obstacles.

Dubbed the “triumphal arch” by President Trump, the structure is central to his plan to reshape the nation’s capital, which also includes a new White House ballroom and a renovated reflecting pool on the National Mall.

Aviation specialists remain divided on whether the arch would hinder aircraft movements in and out of Reagan National Airport. The crowded airspace attracted heightened safety scrutiny after a midair collision last year between a commercial jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter that claimed 67 lives.

A New York Times analysis released this week revealed that the arch’s summit would intrude into a corridor that is normally kept clear for flights; objects penetrating that zone require rigorous FAA scrutiny to assess safety.

The FAA’s study identified the arch “as an obstruction,” meaning it “would require it to be lit with red obstruction lights.”

While any structure exceeding 200 feet must undergo a formal evaluation to determine aviation hazards, feasibility studies such as the one issued on Friday are optional for the builder, and their recommendations are not binding.

The report clarifies that the feasibility study’s outcomes “do not constitute a determination of no hazard to air navigation from the FAA,” and that “a comprehensive aeronautical study will be required for the building’s actual design before construction commences.”

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