D.C. area residents have been complaining about helicopter noise for years.

The helicopters “will measure naturally occurring background radiation” to help ensure public safety during the day’s events.

Approval would be choppy. Helicopter traffic has been restricted in D.C. since Sept. 11, 2001, but experts say that if any company can find a way through the regulations, it’s Amazon.

If you’ve noticed a few extra helicopters buzzing above D.C. in recent days, it’s not because of any stepped-up police or military presence, though some of those choppers are flying pretty low to the ground.

Seeing military helicopters flying over the District’s skyline is just part and parcel of living in the nation’s capital, and DCist reader John LaRue sent along a picture he snapped yesterday over the Kennedy Center.