A Delta Air Lines flight had a hair-raising encounter with U.S. Air Force jets near Reagan Washington National Airport, prompting an official investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) into last Friday’s incident.
Outraged senators are pressing the FAA for explanations regarding the distressingly common close shaves between helicopters and commercial aircraft at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Acknowledging a lapse in safety oversight, the acting FAA chief conceded, “Something was missed.”
Delta Flight 2389, Minneapolis-bound, received clearance to depart approximately 3:15 p.m ET (20:15 BST) just as four U.S. Air Force T-38 Talons performed a maneuver over Arlington National Cemetery. An alarm warning of a potential collision rang in the Delta cockpit, causing air traffic controllers to urgently instruct both flight crews on evasive action, reports The Mirror US.
In a fierce reaction to the ordeal, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar branded the incident as “unbelievably dangerous.”
She vowed immediate action, asserting, “My first call to Department of Defense tomorrow: why are your planes flying 500 feet (150 meters) below passenger jets full of Minnesotans.”
This harrowing episode follows a tragic mid-air collision that occurred on January 29 near the same airport, where a U.S. Army helicopter and a passenger jet collided, claiming 67 lives. This marked the first fatal accident involving a U.S. passenger airline in 16 years.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NSTB) uncovered a staggering 15,214 “near miss events” at a particular airport from 2021 to 2024. Aircraft came within a nautical mile of one another, with vertical separation often falling below 400 feet.
A more alarming figure revealed 85 cases where aircrafts were significantly closer.
At the hearing on the aviation collision, Chris Rocheleau, acting FAA administrator, remarked, “There were a number of reports that came in, and we investigate every single near midair collision. We have teams that go out and assess the airspace itself.”
Concern spiked following a deadly midair collision earlier in January, shaking confidence despite the United States not seeing a fatal commercial air crash since 2009.
In an unsettling incident about a month post-collision in February, an American Airlines aircraft had to abort its descent into Reagan National Airport due to imminent threat posed by another airplane.
The FAA provided CNN with specifics, noting that this “go-around” was necessary to “ensure separation between this aircraft and a preceding departure from the same runway.”
At the top 30 busiest US airports, such as Reagan National, these precautionary manoeuvres represented roughly 0.39% of total arrivals during fiscal year 2023.
Adding to concerns, commercial flights landing at Reagan encountered unexplained collision alerts near the vicinity of the past January’s calamity as recently as March 1.
Citizens and lawmakers have vocally expressed the need for drastic changes to prevent fatalities. Following the crash on January 29, the NTSB suggested reducing helicopter traffic at the airport, a recommendation swiftly put into action by the FAA.
