Latest news with #TheFederalAviationAdministration
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Ground stop in effect at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport due to weather
The Federal Aviation Administration reported a ground stop was in effect and delays were expected as severe weather enters the metro Atlanta area. The FAA announced the ground stop on their Air Traffic Control System Command Center system. According to the alert, the Diversion Recovery Tool has been activated for the airport. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] TRENDING STORIES: LIVE UPDATES: Severe Thunderstorm Warning for parts of metro, Tornado Watch still in effect Thousands turn out across Metro Atlanta to protest against presidential policies 'Respectful removal:' APD, fire department working to safely move dead horse from street [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
CNN
02-04-2025
- General
- CNN
FAA ‘stress management team' to meet with controllers at Reagan Airport following control tower fight and mid-air collision
The Federal Aviation Administration is sending a 'stress management team' to meet with air traffic controllers at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and making other changes after a rash of recent incidents. The 'Critical Incident Stress Management' team, which offers 'confidential support for staff following stressful events,' will visit DCA in early April, the FAA announced in a statement. The agency will also conduct regular 'wellness checks at the facility.' Reagan Airport has had a string of incidents since the start of the year, including January 29 when a US Army Blackhawk helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet collided in the air, killing 67 people. Thursday, a fight in the control tower ended with a 39-year-old controller arrested and charged with assault and battery. The FAA says he has been placed on leave. On Friday, a close call occurred after an apparent breakdown in communications ultimately led to a Delta Air Lines plane taking off and T-38 jets from an Air Force flyover coming dangerously close. 'The air traffic center that controls air space around DC notified DCA about the flyover. That should have led to halted traffic,' Sen. Ted Cruz said in a congressional hearing Wednesday. 'This serious communication breakdown is just the latest in a string of missteps that signal that the air traffic organization is under extreme stress.' The FAA also increased the number of operational supervisors at the airport from six to eight and is reviewing controller staffing. At the time of January's collision one controller was handling two positions, the National Transportation Safety Board noted. While that is allowed in certain circumstances, the preliminary report shows they did it for more than five hours, which was not abnormal. The most recent data from the Federal Aviation Administration shows that across all airport towers and terminal approach facilities nationwide, only about 70% of staffing targets were filled by fully certified controllers as of September 2023. The FAA will also evaluate the rate at which planes are allowed to arrive at the airport each hour. The number of hourly arrivals was reduced to 26 after the January collision when some runways were closed for the investigation, but they have since been increased to 30 – still fewer than the 32 arrivals per hour allowed before the January accident.
CNN
02-04-2025
- General
- CNN
FAA ‘stress management team' to meet with controllers at Reagan Airport following control tower fight and mid-air collision
The Federal Aviation Administration is sending a 'stress management team' to meet with air traffic controllers at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and making other changes after a rash of recent incidents. The 'Critical Incident Stress Management' team, which offers 'confidential support for staff following stressful events,' will visit DCA in early April, the FAA announced in a statement. The agency will also conduct regular 'wellness checks at the facility.' Reagan Airport has had a string of incidents since the start of the year, including January 29 when a US Army Blackhawk helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet collided in the air, killing 67 people. Thursday, a fight in the control tower ended with a 39-year-old controller arrested and charged with assault and battery. The FAA says he has been placed on leave. On Friday, a close call occurred after an apparent breakdown in communications ultimately led to a Delta Air Lines plane taking off and T-38 jets from an Air Force flyover coming dangerously close. 'The air traffic center that controls air space around DC notified DCA about the flyover. That should have led to halted traffic,' Sen. Ted Cruz said in a congressional hearing Wednesday. 'This serious communication breakdown is just the latest in a string of missteps that signal that the air traffic organization is under extreme stress.' The FAA also increased the number of operational supervisors at the airport from six to eight and is reviewing controller staffing. At the time of January's collision one controller was handling two positions, the National Transportation Safety Board noted. While that is allowed in certain circumstances, the preliminary report shows they did it for more than five hours, which was not abnormal. The most recent data from the Federal Aviation Administration shows that across all airport towers and terminal approach facilities nationwide, only about 70% of staffing targets were filled by fully certified controllers as of September 2023. The FAA will also evaluate the rate at which planes are allowed to arrive at the airport each hour. The number of hourly arrivals was reduced to 26 after the January collision when some runways were closed for the investigation, but they have since been increased to 30 – still fewer than the 32 arrivals per hour allowed before the January accident.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Multiple Flights Landing In DC Receive False Midair Collision Warnings
The Federal Aviation Administration launched an investigation into multiple mid-air collision warnings heard by more than a dozen flights on the approach to Ronald Reagan National Airport this past weekend. The planes reportedly heard the warnings despite there being no other air traffic in the immediate vicinity. Several flight crews on aircraft due to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport, which is near Washington DC, heard warnings on their alerts on their Traffic Collision Avoidance System, reports CNN. The messages told crews that another aircraft "was nearby when no other aircraft were in the area," the FAA said in a statement. The mid-air collision warnings come just weeks after a deadly crash between a helicopter and a commercial jet in the skies above Washington DC The aerial crash between American Eagle flight 5342 and a US Army Blackhawk helicopter occurred just a few miles from Ronald Reagan National Airport and killed 67 people. Read more: Here's Why You Always Board Planes On The Left More than 10 incidents of aircraft receiving false collision warnings on their TCAS were reported by CBS News this weekend. The incidents reportedly occurred early on Saturday morning with the peak seeing six aircraft receiving the warnings within around 11 minutes of each other after 9 a.m. on Saturday: "It's been happening all morning. Let me know if you see anything. No one else has seen anything except for on the TCAS," one air traffic controller can be heard telling an inbound flight. Based on CBS News' review of the ATC audio, at least 12 flight crews reported receiving apparent false TCAS alerts — leading three flights to perform go-arounds between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. ET on Saturday. Pilots of impacted flights were asked by air traffic controllers if they had seen any aircraft or other obstacles on their approach once they safely touched down at Reagan. One responded "negative, it would just say an unknown target descending rapidly," CBS News added. The warnings were all being sent by the Traffic Collision Avoidance System on each aircraft. This system is separate to air traffic control and works by searching the airspace using radio frequencies from transponders found on other planes in the sky. If another signal is picked up by TCAS, then the system warns crews of a potential collision and gives the pilots instructions on how to safely get out of any dangerous situation. In this instance, the system directed some aircraft to dive suddenly or carry out go-around maneuvers. The system can be susceptible to interference in some instances, especially when approaching an airport to land, adds CNN. It is rare for so many aircraft to receive the same warnings in quick succession, the site explained. The incidents at Reagan come at a tough time for American aviation. Just a few miles from Reagan airport, a deadly collision claimed the lives of almost 70 people earlier this year, and a slew of deadly crashes in the U.S. means that the start of 2025 is one of the deadliest periods in American aviation for decades. The blame for many issues have fallen on the Federal Aviation Administration, with president Donald Trump attributing some shortcomings to diversity policies that he brought in at the FAA. That is, of course, a ridiculous leap to make and one that has zero proof to back it up. That hasn't stopped Trump from slashing DEI schemes across the U.S. government, and he's now sent his pet billionaire, Elon Musk, into the FAA in an attempt to tighten security and safety at the administration. So far, though, Musk appears to have just siphoned off money to fund contracts with his wireless internet provider, Starlink. Read the original article on Jalopnik.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
FAA investigating Minnesota woman's skydiving death in Arizona
The Federal Aviation Administration says it is investigating a Jan. 24 skydiving accident in Eloy in which a Minnesota woman died after complications with her parachute. "The FAA investigations of skydiving accidents and incidents typically focus on inspecting the packing of the parachute and reserve parachute, and rules of flight for the pilot and aircraft," the agency said in a written statement. It said the investigation would not involve investigating the cause of the event. Ann Wick, 55, a Burnsville, Minnesota native, is believed to have done several jumps Jan. 24 at the skydiving facility in Eloy, Skydive Arizona. The police say she was at least on her fifth jump when the accident happened. Wick was a breast cancer survivor who had more than 250 skydiving jumps under her belt, her family said. She is survived by two children, Rosalie, 22, and Charlie, 23. A GoFundMe account set up by the Wick's brother, Jeff Wallis, has raised more than $12,000. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: FAA investigating Minnesota woman Ann Wick's skydiving death in Arizona
