Latest news with #NationalAirport
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Yahoo
Metro announces service changes for Cinco de Mayo weekend
WASHINGTON () — Metro announced that there will be service changes to some of its trains during Cinco de Mayo weekend as crews complete track work. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority said that starting on Saturday, May 3 all Yellow and Blue Line trains will begin single-tracking between Pentagon City and National Airport. Both trains will run every 18 minutes. 'If it somehow sounds like there's anger in my voice, there is': Tensions rise as DC Council waits for the 2026 budget The transit authority noted that Silver Line trains will operate on a normal schedule between Ashburn and new Carrollton to avoid conflicts with the Blue Line. According to Metro, crews will work on the platform edge lighting and replace rail and fasteners on the Yellow Line. The service changes will take place on Saturday, May 3, from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. and on Sunday, May 4, from 7 a.m. to midnight. To check the status of a train or plan your trip, click . Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Business Standard
28-04-2025
- General
- Business Standard
Ignored warnings, missed signals: What led to Washington midair collision
Pilot error, ignored warnings, and communication failures blamed for the deadly mid-air collision over Washington that killed 67, indicates an investigation Rimjhim Singh New Delhi A series of errors involving risky flying maneuvers, ignored warnings, and critical communication failures led to the mid-air collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines flight over the Potomac River near Washington, DC, killing 67 people, according to a The New York Times report. The crash, which occurred on January 29, 2025, is now considered one of the worst domestic aviation disasters in the United States in nearly 25 years. Flying too high and ignored warning At the time of the crash, the Black Hawk helicopter was flying at 278 ft — significantly above its permissible limit of 200 ft — while the American Airlines jet was descending at 313 ft towards runway 33 at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The two aircraft collided at approximately 300 feet altitude around 8.48 pm (local time). 'Not only was the Black Hawk flying too high, but in the final seconds before the crash, its pilot failed to heed a directive from her co-pilot, an Army flight instructor, to change course,' reported The New York Times. The report said that Captain Rebecca Lobach, piloting the Black Hawk, ignored her co-pilot Andrew Eaves's call to turn left just 15 seconds before the collision. Equipment limitations Some crucial instructions from the control tower were 'stepped on' — interrupted by other transmissions — meaning the helicopter crew likely missed critical messages, The New York Times report mentioned. 'You hear a command from air traffic control, and you repeat it back to clarify that you have indeed heard it," explained aviation expert Dan Ronan to 7News. 'But if another microphone gets keyed, and in a busy airspace like Washington, DC, it's not uncommon to have multiple, 7, 8, 9, aircraft on one frequency — someone keys that microphone, and the pilot of the Black Hawk apparently never heard the command from the air traffic controller,' he said. Adding to the confusion, the Black Hawk's tracking technology, which could have enhanced visibility for controllers, was turned off. This, according to protocol, was meant to simulate the secret evacuation of a senior government official, but some experts believe it removed a critical safety net. Visual separation and its risks The crash has drawn attention to the manoeuvre known as 'visual separation', typically used by smaller aircraft and helicopters during emergency evacuations. Visual separation requires pilots to visually identify and avoid other aircraft, instead of depending solely on radar guidance. Roughly two minutes before the crash, the chopper crew requested permission to use visual separation, which was granted by air traffic control. However, the manoeuvre was not executed properly. Visual separation carries significant risks, especially under conditions of poor visibility or restricted cockpit views, and depends heavily on pilot judgment. Following the clearance, radio communication between the Black Hawk and the controller deteriorated. Around 20 seconds before the mid-air collision, the controller asked the helicopter if they had spotted the approaching American Airlines jet, but received no response. A few moments later, the two aircraft collided. Multiple failures led to the crash The news report places responsibility on multiple factors: The pilot's deviation from assigned orders, mismanagement by the air traffic controller, poor execution of visual separation, and technical limitations. The incident has raised serious concerns about aviation safety protocols in busy and sensitive airspace such as that over Washington, DC.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Yahoo
FAA introduces wellness checks for Reagan air traffic controllers
The Federal Aviation Administration has announced extra support for air traffic controllers at Ronald Reagan National Airport following a series of incidents, including an alleged fight between two team members. Damon Marsalis Gaines, 39, was taken into custody by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police Department and charged with assault and battery after the incident on Thursday. The airport authority runs National Airport and Dulles International Airport in Virginia. Now the agency says it will send a critical incident stress management team to the airport to offer confidential support for staff following stressful events, increase operational supervisor staffing from six to eight, review airport certified professional controller staffing numbers and the arrival rate of aircraft per hour. Additionally, the agency intends to conduct regular wellness checks at the facility. The FAA said Gaines, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, remains on administrative leave as officials investigate the matter. The agency is in the middle of a campaign to recruit air traffic controllers after several aviation disasters this year put the national shortage in the spotlight. The country needs more than 14,000 air traffic controllers and there are currently around 10,800. In January, National Airport suffered a fatal incident when an American Airlines plane collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River, killing 67 people. A National Transportation Safety Board preliminary investigation found the airport had experienced 15,000 near-misses from October 2021 to December 2024. On Friday, the airport had another near-miss incident when a Delta Air Lines flight came close to a US Air Force T-3 jet around 3 p.m. as the military jet flew over the east bank of the river for a flyover ceremony at nearby Arlington National Cemetery. Following the fatal crash, the FAA imposed restrictions on non-commercial traffic flying over the river, with exceptions for emergency, presidential and vice-presidential operations.
The Independent
03-04-2025
- The Independent
FAA introduces wellness checks for Reagan air traffic controllers
The Federal Aviation Administration has announced extra support for air traffic controllers at Ronald Reagan National Airport following a series of incidents, including an alleged fight between two team members. Damon Marsalis Gaines, 39, was taken into custody by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police Department and charged with assault and battery after the incident on Thursday. The airport authority runs National Airport and Dulles International Airport in Virginia. Now the agency says it will send a critical incident stress management team to the airport to offer confidential support for staff following stressful events, increase operational supervisor staffing from six to eight, review airport certified professional controller staffing numbers and the arrival rate of aircraft per hour. Additionally, the agency intends to conduct regular wellness checks at the facility. The FAA said Gaines, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, remains on administrative leave as officials investigate the matter. The agency is in the middle of a campaign to recruit air traffic controllers after several aviation disasters this year put the national shortage in the spotlight. The country needs more than 14,000 air traffic controllers and there are currently around 10,800. In January, National Airport suffered a fatal incident when an American Airlines plane collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River, killing 67 people. A National Transportation Safety Board preliminary investigation found the airport had experienced 15,000 near-misses from October 2021 to December 2024. On Friday, the airport had another near-miss incident when a Delta Air Lines flight came close to a US Air Force T-3 jet around 3 p.m. as the military jet flew over the east bank of the river for a flyover ceremony at nearby Arlington National Cemetery. Following the fatal crash, the FAA imposed restrictions on non-commercial traffic flying over the river, with exceptions for emergency, presidential and vice-presidential operations.
CNN
01-04-2025
- General
- CNN
‘Something was missed' at Reagan National Airport. What experts have to say about one of the country's busiest airports
Summary Reagan National Airport faces safety concerns following a fatal collision between a jetliner and helicopter in January. The National Transportation Safety Board uncovered over 15,000 near-miss events at the airport since 2021. Pilots and experts criticize the airport's management of helicopter traffic in its restricted airspace. Recent incidents include collision warnings, a controller's arrest, and military jets causing another close call. The airport's main runway, one of America's busiest with over 800 daily takeoffs and landings, struggles with congestion. When senators grilled the Federal Aviation Administration last week about how the agency could have let the high number of close calls between helicopters and commercial jetliners occur at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, the acting head of the FAA replied, 'Something was missed.' That thought came 'too little, too late,' according to Dailey Crafton, who was in attendance. In January, his brother was among 67 people killed when an American Airlines regional jet landing at the airport collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River. The National Transportation Safety Board later uncovered 15,214 'near miss events' at the airport between 2021 and 2024, where aircraft were within one nautical mile of each other, with a vertical separation of less than 400 feet. There were also 85 cases where aircraft were much closer - less than 1,500 feet apart, with a vertical separation of less than 200 feet, according to the NTSB. 'There were a number of reports that came in, and we investigate every single near midair collision,' said Chris Rocheleau, acting FAA administrator in the hearing on the collision. 'We have teams that go out and assess the airspace itself.' The 'overburdened' Reagan National Airport, which sits on a total of 860 acres, has long been one of the nation's busiest airports, according to the Coalition to Protect America's Regional Airports. It served 25.5 million passengers in 2023, more than its much larger counterpart Dulles International Airport, which served 25.1 million. Reagan National Airport's main runway is the busiest runway in the country, with over 800 daily takeoffs and landings, according to the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority. The airport has 58 total gates and three runways. It's increasingly complicated by restricted airspace and government buildings. The White House is about two miles from the end of a runway, which forces planes to fly curved approaches and departures. 'They could've resolved this years ago,' said Allen Campbell, who flew with Delta Air Lines and the military for nearly 40 years. 'If you think of most of the major airports in America, Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami – you're not going to get helicopters flying within five miles of that airport without some really significant clearance. So, Ronald Reagan, I think, has just abused that operation for years. It's hit them in the face, and I think now they're going to have to fix it.' Flying around DC, pilots are aware of all of the restrictions, Campbell said. He believes the airport is 'mismanaged.' A veteran pilot, Darrell Feller flew helicopters around the airport near the nation's capital multiple times, first when he worked for the National Guard, then with US Customs and Border Protection. He also, separately, spent time flying airplanes for Alaska Airlines. Feller recalled an incident while he was flying a helicopter south on the same route the Black Hawk was on that dreadful day in January. A commercial jet was landing on Runway 33 at Reagan Airport at the same time. 'We had a little more separation than this incident at DCA, but I could not see that airliner,' Feller said. 'It got lost in the city lights there. I couldn't see it. I knew it was there, and so I slowed down. I descended a little lower.' It made Feller 'a lot more cautious,' as a pilot. Since the collision on January 29, the NTSB issued an urgent recommendation to restrict helicopter traffic at the airport. The FAA adopted that recommendation shortly after. However, those restrictions may not be enough as the airport continues to see more safety-related issues. There hadn't been a deadly commercial air crash in the US since 2009, however, the fatal midair collision in January heightened concern about the crowded DC airport. In February, about a month after the midair collision, an American Airlines flight arriving at Reagan National Airport was forced to abort its landing to avoid another aircraft. A 'go-around' was performed to 'ensure separation was maintained between this aircraft and a preceding departure from the same runway,' the FAA told CNN. Although go-arounds are performed often, the incident heightened the attention to the airport's airspace. At the 30 US airports with the highest number of operations – a group that includes Reagan National – go-arounds accounted for about 0.39% of arrivals in fiscal year 2023, according to the FAA. Mysterious collision warnings in commercial jets landing at Reagan were also reported around March 1 and occurred only miles from the site of the January accident. Several flight crews reported the mystery alerts on their Traffic Collision Avoidance System, known as TCAS, 'indicating another aircraft was nearby when no other aircraft were in the area,' the FAA said in a statement at the time. At the hearing on the midair collision last week, the FAA confirmed these warnings were caused by testing of an anti-drone system by the US Navy and Secret Service. To add to the incidents at Reagan National Airport, an air traffic controller was arrested for assault and battery on Thursday after an 'incident' in the control tower, according to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. The 39-year-old controller was put on administrative leave while the FAA investigates, the agency told CNN. 'Apparently, the Navy was using the same spectrum band as TCAS, causing the interference and faulty resolution advisories,' Sen. Ted Cruz said during the hearing. 'Even though the FAA had previously warned the Navy and the Secret Service against using that specific spectrum band due to interference risks.' Another close call this past week has prompted investigations from both the FAA and NTSB. On Friday, collision warnings sounded inside the cockpit of a Delta Air Lines aircraft taking off from the airport when a flight of military training jets sped past. The four US Air Force T-38 Talons were inbound to Arlington National Cemetery for a flyover, the FAA said in a statement. A preliminary report on the incident will be issued within 30 days. A kite also struck a United Airlines flight from Houston to Washington Saturday. The plane was undamaged and landed safely, according to United. Law enforcement located kites flying at Gravelly Point, a park a few hundred feet away from the north end of the airport's runway. Some pilots, like Campbell, believe the airport's issues could have been resolved a lot sooner. The congestion remains an issue at Reagan National Airport, according to Phillip Ansell, an associate professor at the Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois. He said because of rapid growth air traffic nearly doubles every 15 to 20 years. Reagan National Airport also deals with a 'slot rule' created by the FAA, where take offs and landings must be scheduled in advance to reduce congestion. However, that rule has since changed. Last year, Congress approved more long-haul flights at the airport. In March, Reagan National Airport had over 26,000 flights in and out scheduled – noting the uptick for the area's highly popular cherry blossom season, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. That's approximately over 2.7 million seats available for passengers. 'When it comes to runways at airports, we're bursting at the seams,' he said.
