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The Hill
15-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Hotline between Reagan National, Pentagon hasn't worked for 3 years
The hotline between the Department of Defense and air traffic controllers at Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) has not worked for over three years, according to a top Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) official. Franklin J. McIntosh, FAA's deputy chief operating officer, confirmed during a Senate hearing on Wednesday on the agency's modernization efforts that the hotline connecting the military and air traffic controllers at DCA has 'been inoperable' since March 2022. McIntosh told senators that he thinks the Pentagon maintains the line of communication. 'I think the next question would be why we were not aware of it and insist upon it to be fixed,' he told members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, adding that 'we take safety responsibilities very seriously in the FAA.' 'We were not aware, but we became after that event,' the official added. 'And now that we became aware of that event, we're insisting upon that line to be fixed before we resume any operations out of the Pentagon.' The FAA temporarily shut down a helicopter route near DCA in March after an Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines passenger plane collided in January, killing 67 people in one of the deadliest airline accidents in the U.S. in the last 20 years. 'I would expect the DOD to expedite the timeline so they can begin operations,' McIntosh said. When asked by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who chairs the committee, whether the hotline was inoperable, the FAA official said air traffic controllers at DCA can communicate with the Pentagon using a landline. He also told lawmakers on Wednesday that the federal regulatory agency was considering banning the Army from flying near DCA's airspace after an early May incident where air traffic controllers had to divert two planes to prevent them from crashing into a military helicopter.
Axios
14-05-2025
- General
- Axios
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.
