Latest news with #RonaldReaganAirport
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Pentagon Loses Connection with Army Helicopter for 20 Seconds, Resulting in Several Aborted Landings at Nearby D.C. Airport
A U.S. Army helicopter lost contact with the Pentagon for 20 seconds, resulting in 2 aborted landings for commercial aircraft This comes months after the deadly crash near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport The Army has paused helicopter activity in this area while the FAA works on a solutionA U.S. Army helicopter lost contact with the Pentagon for 20 seconds on May 1, per a new report by the Associated Press published Friday, May 23. The loss of contact resulted in two commercial jets abruptly aborting landings to prevent a potential collision, the outlet reports. The incident comes months after the deadly collision between a Blackhawk helicopter and a commercial jet that killed 67 people near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Following the May 1 incident, the Army has paused all flight activity in the area surrounding Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. PEOPLE reached out to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for comment, but did not immediately hear back. In March, the FAA indefinitely shut down the helicopter route on which the Black Hawk from the January collision had been traveling in the vicinity of Washington, D.C.'s Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Brig. Gen. Matthew Braman, the head of Army aviation, explained that the controllers lost contact with the Black Hawk because a temporary control tower antenna was not set up in a location where it would be able to maintain contact with the helicopter as it flew. He said the antenna was set up during construction of a new control tower and has now been moved to the roof of the Pentagon, per an exclusive interview with the AP. Former FAA and NTSB crash investigator Jeff Guzzetti additionally confirmed to the outlet that he believes the two commercial aircrafts that aborted landing on May 1 made the right move. 'The Army, to me, seems to be attempting to sidestep some of their responsibility here. And it just sounds like excuses to say 'Hey, we had our ADS-B on and that should have been enough for them to see where we were.' That sounds too simplistic to me,' Guzzetti told the AP. In the initial reporting on the aborted landings, an FAA official suggested the Army helicopter was taking a 'scenic route.' Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. However, the ADS-B-Out data, which the Army shared with the AP on Friday, depicts that the crew hewed closely to its approved flight path — directly up the I-395 highway corridor – then rounding the Pentagon. FAA air traffic controllers at the airport aborted the landing of a Delta Air Lines Airbus A319 during the Black Hawk's initial flight toward the Pentagon because they realized both aircrafts would be nearing the Pentagon at approximately the same time, the outlet reports. Read the original article on People
Telegraph
21-05-2025
- Telegraph
Why pilots fear that airplanes will be the next target of cyber hackers
When the words 'traffic, traffic' blared out of the flight deck speakers, the pilots immediately tried to avoid the mid-air collision they feared was imminent. Yet there was nothing nearby, except for a rogue radio signal. Nonetheless, the pilots of the half-dozen airliners who received the alerts in short succession reacted as they had been trained to do: they followed the computer-generated commands that told them to climb or dive. The fact that there was nothing in the nearby skies – no collision course, no errant helicopter about to cause a headline-grabbing disaster – was discovered only after both official and media-led investigations into the incidents earlier this year at America's Ronald Reagan National Airport, near Washington, DC. Fears are now rising that the onboard system which falsely told those pilots that a collision was imminent was not only deliberately spoofed – as such an attack is known in the industry – but that malicious people around the world, such as the teenage hackers wreaking havoc on high-street retailers, have been taking notes. And only in January this year, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency felt it was necessary to issue a warning about the growing threat. 'The idea scares the s--- out of me,' one long-haul pilot tells The Telegraph. 'In the worst case, it's high severity, even up to possible hull loss,' he adds, using the aviation euphemism for total destruction of an airliner. Understanding what happened at Ronald Reagan National Airport, and the scale of the risk that copycats could potentially cause, means learning about the system that was targeted. The Traffic Collision Advisory Service, or TCAS (pronounced 'tee-cass') for short, is one of the myriad safety technologies built into all modern airliners. Devised in the wake of numerous mid-air collisions, including most notably one in 1978 over the Grand Canyon that left 144 people dead, the system alerts pilots that they're on a collision course with another aircraft. TCAS works by having each aircraft fitted with a radio transponder that broadcasts its location, height, speed and direction. An onboard computer receives those signals from nearby aeroplanes and does some maths to work out whether or not a collision course exists. Audio and visual warnings are generated in the flight deck to alert the pilots if that is the case. Yet warnings are rarely enough on their own. History is littered with examples of catastrophes unfolding after human operators distrusted what their machines were telling them. Commercial aviation's most famous disaster, the crash of Air France flight 447 in 2009, saw a confused pilot ignoring cockpit warnings and plunging his aircraft into the icy waters of the South Atlantic, taking 228 lives in total. As a result of those types of incidents, humans are now trained to take action when safety systems tell them to do so. When a collision course risks becoming lethal, TCAS says pilots must climb, or descend, to avoid catastrophe. All airline pilots are trained to react instinctively to these commands. Evidence so far suggests TCAS works well. One incident last October saw an American Airlines Boeing 737 avoiding a mid-air collision with an errant Cessna light aircraft after the latter's pilot turned directly into the airliner's path as it prepared to land. Alerted by TCAS, the Boeing's pilots were able to climb away from the potentially lethal encounter – albeit missing the light aeroplane by only 400 feet, a hair's breadth in aviation terms. Cyber security researchers have looked at TCAS in detail over recent years to see whether TCAS is vulnerable to spoofing – the art of broadcasting fake signals from a make-believe aeroplane – and how difficult it would be. 'I'll be honest with you,' says Ken Munro of cybersecurity firm Pen Test Partners. 'Back in the days when I was flying more frequently, you'd often see things like miscalibrated transponders on a light aircraft, misreporting and then broadcasting the wrong data and causing weird alerts for commercials operating several thousand feet above.' In Munro's view, cock-up rather than conspiracy was the cause of the Washington, DC mystery alerts. Online speculation suggests that perhaps an aeroplane being serviced at the airport accidentally broadcast a signal that was received above. Could someone malicious have been trying to tamper with flights over the US capital city? 'It's technically possible,' Munro concedes. His firm's research, in a simulated environment, showed in 2020 that TCAS spoofing could make airliners climb or descend in predictable ways. Manipulating airliners not in accordance with the wishes of pilots or air traffic controllers, but someone else altogether, bodes ill for flight safety. Meanwhile, the long-haul pilot, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not an official spokesman for his employer, painted a picture of what might be happening in the flight deck in that situation. 'If you spoof [TCAS] so the plane thinks it's still going to collide, you [can] get the plane to change a crazy altitude before the pilots realise what's going on,' he said. 'At cruise speed, there's no way you'll see the [other, fake] plane whether or not there's a spoof. 'And when or how do you even know if it's fake? For all we know, the other dude is just ignoring his TCAS instructions and diving too,' he added. In this situation, the pilot said, he would expect to have to 'hand-fly' without autopilot, a potentially risky manoeuvre at high altitude and high speed. 'I've seen guys in the simulator try to fly it like a normal low level [manoeuvre] and sent their planes careening,' he continued, adding that this could rapidly overwhelm the two crew found in airliner cockpits today. 'So you've got one pilot completely out of the picture, just trying to keep the plane level, and the other guy is trying to figure out what the f--- is going on,' he explained. 'Meanwhile, there's no protection from any other planes because you're ignoring TCAS. In high-density airspace like the North Atlantic, Europe or North America you could end up colliding with someone else.' Yet aviation safety is built around multiple layers, and if TCAS is giving false alerts, other systems provide back-ups for pilots to continue flying safely. Munro points to a study carried out by Oxford University in early 2020. Thirty commercial pilots in a simulator were exposed to fake TCAS warnings to see how they reacted. Matt Smith, the lead researcher, told tech news website The Register at the time: 'We know these attacks exist but we don't know what would happen if they occurred.' His findings were instructive. Every pilot responded to the TCAS alerts – at first. Then they began muting the system, turning off the 'climb now / descend now' demands, and following other indications instead. Smith added: 'If industry engaged with penetration testing on these systems and tried to fully map out what the attacks might be, what they presented to the pilots as, they should at least be able to give a list of situations that might come about as a result of an attack.' Official attention to what used to be the theoretical musings of computer security technicians has improved during the intervening five years. In their January bulletin, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said: 'By utilising software-defined radios and a custom low-latency processing pipeline, RF signals with spoofed location data can be transmitted to aircraft targets. This can lead to the appearance of fake aircraft on displays and potentially trigger undesired Resolution Advisories (RAs).' In plain English, off-the-shelf electronics equipment and freely downloadable software, together with the exact technical knowhow required, could lead to a successful TCAS spoofing attack. On this side of the Atlantic, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) says instances of jamming and spoofing are relatively rare around the world. Glenn Bradley, the Civil Aviation Authority's head of flight operations, said: 'We recognise the scale of these events and work closely with the industry, including other aviation regulators, airlines and aircraft manufacturers to understand and reduce the issues created by jamming. 'While there are several safety protocols and mitigations in place to protect navigation systems on commercial aircraft, we continue to monitor incidents worldwide to ensure that any actions or improvements to safeguarding are swiftly put in place as necessary.' While officials are, so far, sceptical about TCAS spoofing becoming reality, the findings of an investigation into the Washington, DC incidents suggest that it may actually have taken place. New York magazine, citing 'a reliable government source', reported earlier this month that the TCAS spoofing had been caused by the US Secret Service. The spooks had reportedly been testing unspecified equipment near US Vice-President JD Vance's official residence at the US Naval Observatory. 'They didn't tell anyone or co-ordinate with anyone,' the source told Intelligencer. 'Once it became known that this was causing issues throughout the area, they worked with the FAA [Federal Aviation Authority].' A Secret Service spokesman told the magazine its agents were working to 'better understand the specifics of how these alerts occur and ensure our systems do not interfere with commercial air-traffic operations', while the FAA said it had managed to 'pinpoint the source and correct it'. So far, airline passengers have little to worry about. TCAS spoofing may have become reality, following years of warnings – but for now, there's little evidence that anyone malicious is using it as a hostile attack technique. But, with the rise of cyber-hacking gangs and asymmetrical warfare, it might just be a matter of time.
CNN
10-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Can the Dept. of Transportation and Sean Duffy fix an antiquated and frequently broken air traffic control system?
Air travel safety Aviation news Airplane crashesFacebookTweetLink Follow After 100 days as Secretary of the Department of Transportation, Sean Duffy says he has the best job in the government because he can make things safer for Americans. It's a job that didn't come with many days off since the moment the 53-year-old started. Duffy, sworn by Judge Clarence Thomas on the afternoon of Jan. 28, had his work cut out for him when the deadliest US airplane crash in nearly two decades happened the next day at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. 'Sixty-seven families now don't have their loved one,' he told CNN in an interview. 'As I thought about that, I thought about what else is out there that could bring us another situation like DCA, and if I could I'd prevent it.' Duffy, a former Republican congressman from Wisconsin and cable news co-host on the Fox Business channel, first rose to national prominence in his 20s on the MTV reality TV shows 'Real World' and 'Road Rules All Stars,' where he met his wife. The former competitive lumberjack and district attorney has dealt with a slew of aviation safety incidents in just a few months leading the DOT, and a struggling air traffic control system facing staffing shortages and antiquated technology due for an upgrade. 'I think people don't want to know who their Secretary of Transportation is because then everything is functioning really well,' he said. 'When you see these issues, we got to come out and say there's a problem. Let's tell it. They'll know who their secretary is, but this is a moment in time where we have to dig deep and go hard and serve the people.' Though he stepped into the role without much of a background in transportation, Duffy's latest aspiration is to improve air travel safety by replacing the country's air traffic control system. On Thursday, his department rolled out a 3-year plan for modernizing air traffic control. The massive plan has left some experts skeptical it can be done so quickly, but there is wide agreement something needs to be done to fix the failing system. Can the DOT do it? The ambitious plan includes 25,000 new radios, 475 voice switches, 618 new radars and six air traffic control centers, all intended to be operational by 2028. Yet, nothing can go forward without the help of Congress. Besides up front funding, Duffy called for reform to the way government permits are issued to avoid what he sees, as delays from red tape. He won't put an exact number on how much money is needed, but Duffy estimates it to be in the 'tens of billions.' 'I can't do by myself,' Duffy said. 'I don't have billions of dollars in my wallet. I need them to do it. I need them to give me the tools. But I'm begging them to let me do this and pay this forward for the families. Pay it forward for our families who travel.' Elaine Chao, who resigned as Trump's DOT Secretary after the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack, praised Duffy's work. 'Secretary Duffy has taken on an incredibly difficult role, and I've been impressed by his leadership over the past few months,' she said. 'I support his efforts to reform and modernize our antiquated ATC system. This needs to get done and I urge leaders on both sides to get behind this effort.' Michele Polese is an assistant research professor of electrical and computer engineering at Northeastern University and expert in wireless networks. He called the plan to upgrade the air traffic control system an 'initial investment' that in the long run, will allow for a financial savings on money spent on maintenance and updates. To pull off an upgrade like this, he emphasized, if there is enough money budgeted it can happen fast, but the money is key. 'The improved high bandwidth communication link with fiber optics - I think that's something that can be done more quickly if there is budget and interest,' Polese said. Duffy in the spotlight When Newark's air traffic control systems failed briefly on April 28, United CEO Scott Kirby picked up his phone and was in immediate contact with Duffy, he told CNN. 'The people of aviation do an amazing job keeping the system safe,' Kirby said Thursday, thanking Duffy for his effort. At the news conference Thursday, the heads of five of the country's major air carriers stood on stage alongside Duffy in support of the new air traffic control plan. Among them was Robert Isom, CEO of American Airlines, whose regional jet collided with the Army helicopter January 29 in Washington. 'Secretary Duffy has proven to be a thoughtful, decisive, and capable leader during some incredibly challenging times,' Isom said. 'He acted decisively to restrict helicopter traffic around DCA after the tragic accident involving Flight 5342, and he continuously prioritizes the safety and efficiency of the aviation system. He is doing his best to tackle problems that have plagued our industry for decades and I am grateful for his leadership.' The show of support was also echoed by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the union which represents controllers, and hasn't always agreed with the department. 'NATCA is ready to continue working with Secretary Duffy, the Department of Transportation, and the Federal Aviation Administration to ensure that all modernization efforts include involvement from the National Airspace System's most important resource – the hardworking air traffic controllers and other aviation safety professionals who keep our skies safe, day in and day out,' said Nick Daniels, president of NATCA in a statement. 'Their expertise will help guarantee that the state-of-the-art systems Sec. Duffy envisions work optimally.' Duffy has also vocalized his intentions to review the mandatory air traffic controller retirement age, which is currently set at 56, which the union opposes. 'NATCA does not believe Sec. Duffy's proposal is an effective solution to addressing the chronic air traffic controller staffing crisis,' the union said in a statement in February. 'In the next 12 months, we anticipate 49 ATCs across 35 facilities will reach age 56. This is not enough to address the nationwide staffing shortage.' Congress members from both sides of the aisle were present Thursday, and Duffy said there was bipartisan support for his plan. 'We don't want the effort to span generations,' said Rep. Rick Larsen, a Democrat and ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure committee. 'We just we need to get moving on this sooner rather than later, including any new investments in policy reforms that build on the law to modernize the nation's ATC infrastructure and growing the aviation safety workforce.' CNN's Pete Muntean contributed to this report.
CNN
09-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Can the Dept. of Transportation and Sean Duffy fix an antiquated and frequently broken air traffic control system?
Air travel safety Aviation news Airplane crashesFacebookTweetLink Follow After 100 days as Secretary of the Department of Transportation, Sean Duffy says he has the best job in the government because he can make things safer for Americans. It's a job that didn't come with many days off since the moment the 53-year-old started. Duffy, sworn by Judge Clarence Thomas on the afternoon of Jan. 28, had his work cut out for him when the deadliest US airplane crash in nearly two decades happened the next day at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. 'Sixty-seven families now don't have their loved one,' he told CNN in an interview. 'As I thought about that, I thought about what else is out there that could bring us another situation like DCA, and if I could I'd prevent it.' Duffy, a former Republican congressman from Wisconsin and cable news co-host on the Fox Business channel, first rose to national prominence in his 20s on the MTV reality TV shows 'Real World' and 'Road Rules All Stars,' where he met his wife. The former competitive lumberjack and district attorney has dealt with a slew of aviation safety incidents in just a few months leading the DOT, and a struggling air traffic control system facing staffing shortages and antiquated technology due for an upgrade. 'I think people don't want to know who their Secretary of Transportation is because then everything is functioning really well,' he said. 'When you see these issues, we got to come out and say there's a problem. Let's tell it. They'll know who their secretary is, but this is a moment in time where we have to dig deep and go hard and serve the people.' Though he stepped into the role without much of a background in transportation, Duffy's latest aspiration is to improve air travel safety by replacing the country's air traffic control system. On Thursday, his department rolled out a 3-year plan for modernizing air traffic control. The massive plan has left some experts skeptical it can be done so quickly, but there is wide agreement something needs to be done to fix the failing system. Can the DOT do it? The ambitious plan includes 25,000 new radios, 475 voice switches, 618 new radars and six air traffic control centers, all intended to be operational by 2028. Yet, nothing can go forward without the help of Congress. Besides up front funding, Duffy called for reform to the way government permits are issued to avoid what he sees, as delays from red tape. He won't put an exact number on how much money is needed, but Duffy estimates it to be in the 'tens of billions.' 'I can't do by myself,' Duffy said. 'I don't have billions of dollars in my wallet. I need them to do it. I need them to give me the tools. But I'm begging them to let me do this and pay this forward for the families. Pay it forward for our families who travel.' Elaine Chao, who resigned as Trump's DOT Secretary after the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack, praised Duffy's work. 'Secretary Duffy has taken on an incredibly difficult role, and I've been impressed by his leadership over the past few months,' she said. 'I support his efforts to reform and modernize our antiquated ATC system. This needs to get done and I urge leaders on both sides to get behind this effort.' Michele Polese is an assistant research professor of electrical and computer engineering at Northeastern University and expert in wireless networks. He called the plan to upgrade the air traffic control system an 'initial investment' that in the long run, will allow for a financial savings on money spent on maintenance and updates. To pull off an upgrade like this, he emphasized, if there is enough money budgeted it can happen fast, but the money is key. 'The improved high bandwidth communication link with fiber optics - I think that's something that can be done more quickly if there is budget and interest,' Polese said. Duffy in the spotlight When Newark's air traffic control systems failed briefly on April 28, United CEO Scott Kirby picked up his phone and was in immediate contact with Duffy, he told CNN. 'The people of aviation do an amazing job keeping the system safe,' Kirby said Thursday, thanking Duffy for his effort. At the news conference Thursday, the heads of five of the country's major air carriers stood on stage alongside Duffy in support of the new air traffic control plan. Among them was Robert Isom, CEO of American Airlines, whose regional jet collided with the Army helicopter January 29 in Washington. 'Secretary Duffy has proven to be a thoughtful, decisive, and capable leader during some incredibly challenging times,' Isom said. 'He acted decisively to restrict helicopter traffic around DCA after the tragic accident involving Flight 5342, and he continuously prioritizes the safety and efficiency of the aviation system. He is doing his best to tackle problems that have plagued our industry for decades and I am grateful for his leadership.' The show of support was also echoed by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the union which represents controllers, and hasn't always agreed with the department. 'NATCA is ready to continue working with Secretary Duffy, the Department of Transportation, and the Federal Aviation Administration to ensure that all modernization efforts include involvement from the National Airspace System's most important resource – the hardworking air traffic controllers and other aviation safety professionals who keep our skies safe, day in and day out,' said Nick Daniels, president of NATCA in a statement. 'Their expertise will help guarantee that the state-of-the-art systems Sec. Duffy envisions work optimally.' Duffy has also vocalized his intentions to review the mandatory air traffic controller retirement age, which is currently set at 56, which the union opposes. 'NATCA does not believe Sec. Duffy's proposal is an effective solution to addressing the chronic air traffic controller staffing crisis,' the union said in a statement in February. 'In the next 12 months, we anticipate 49 ATCs across 35 facilities will reach age 56. This is not enough to address the nationwide staffing shortage.' Congress members from both sides of the aisle were present Thursday, and Duffy said there was bipartisan support for his plan. 'We don't want the effort to span generations,' said Rep. Rick Larsen, a Democrat and ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure committee. 'We just we need to get moving on this sooner rather than later, including any new investments in policy reforms that build on the law to modernize the nation's ATC infrastructure and growing the aviation safety workforce.' CNN's Pete Muntean contributed to this report.
AU Financial Review
22-04-2025
- AU Financial Review
Washington DC's antidote to the Trump slump
On an unseasonably cloudless autumn evening, as my flight makes its final approach to Ronald Reagan Airport, a blur of the American capital's biggest tourist attractions flash past my window.
