The Army is telling The Associated Press that military air traffic controllers lost contact with an Army helicopter for about 20 seconds as it neared the Pentagon on the flight that caused two commercial jets to abort their landings this month at a Washington airport.

The FAA says nearly 54,000 flights are scheduled for Thursday across the U.S., making it the busiest day in the air for Memorial Day weekend. Overall, AAA expects 45.1 million Americans to travel at least 50 miles for the official kickoff to the summer season.