Hotline linking Pentagon, Reagan Airport inoperable since 2022, FAA says
A direct line between the Pentagon and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport ' s air traffic control tower has been inoperable since March 2022, a Federal Aviation Administration official testified Wednesday.
The big picture: The FAA had briefly closed military helicopter routes flying near the airport after one collided with a civilian passenger jet in January, causing the deadliest airline accident in the U.S. in decades.
The Defense Department manages the hotline, Franklin J. McIntosh, FAA deputy chief operating officer, said during the Senate hearing.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
Driving the news: "We're insisting upon that line to be fixed before we resume any operations out of the Pentagon," he said.
Without the hotline, air traffic controllers at the airport had to use a landline to communicate with the Pentagon helipad instead.
State of play: The FAA "became aware" that the hotline was out this month, less than a week after the Army resumed D.C.-area flights for the first time since January's fatal mid-air collision.
The Army resumed flying in the D.C. region April 25. Days later, air traffic control commanded two commercial aircrafts to abort landings at Reagan National because an Army Black Hawk was on an apparent Pentagon training mission.
At the time, air traffic controllers were in charge of both local air traffic and helicopter flights, just as they were on the day of the crash, McIntosh said.
The Army Aviation Brigade again suspended operations in the D.C. area. on May 5.
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