NEW: Here's another conflict trying to balance public safety and aircraft safety around Reagan National Airport. Shortly after midnight, the @FairfaxCountyPD helicopter attempted to fly over an apartment complex where officers on the ground searched for a person who had apparently lost a lot of blood. This was on Southgate Drive in Groveton. As you'll hear in the police and air traffic control radio traffic below 🔽🔽, the Reagan tower denied the helicopter clearance into the area between Route 1 and the Potomac River. Entering what is called Zone 4 would have put the helicopter close to planes landing to the north on Runway 1 and Runway 33. If the helicopter had been allowed access, the controller possibly would have temporarily diverted some flights to meet the aircraft separation requirements that were scrutinized following the tragic mid-air collision in January. According to @rachelweinerwp and @iduncan, the FAA ordered controllers at DCA in August to stop giving area police helicopters priority due to the potential disruption of air traffic. At the time of this morning's event, the @DCPoliceTraffic helicopter was also in the air, operating near the old RFK stadium site. It's unclear what impact the loss of the helicopter had on the incident in Groveton. @ffxnow @HelicoptersofDC @charlienbc @NFTC_News @matthewyoung31 @HCBright10 @AdamTuss @tomroussey7news @krisvancleave @petemuntean @PenguinSix @HillaryHowardDC @DCNewsNow @dclinenews #aviation #police