Another near-collision at Reagan National Airport, FAA investigates – NBC4 Washington

A near-collision between two aircraft on Wednesday morning at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, is currently being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The near-collision came after air traffic controllers scrambled to prevent another potential disaster last month, prompting U.S. Senator Tim Kaine to criticize the passage of a federal bill to allow more flights to Reagan National Airport.

In the latest horror scenario, an American Airlines plane en route to Boston reached a speed of around 160 kilometers per hour when air traffic controllers ordered the pilot to stop, NBC Boston reported.

An air traffic controller canceled the takeoff of American Airlines Flight 2134 because another aircraft had received clearance to land on an intersecting runway at around 10:30 a.m., the FAA said.

Recordings show air traffic controllers urgently instructing the pilot to abort takeoff and leave the main runway to avoid crossing with a smaller aircraft landing on another runway.

“American 2134, cancel takeoff clearance!” shouted an air traffic controller. “Zero Alpha Alpha, go around! Go around!”

“Aborted takeoff, 21:34,” a pilot replied.

“Zero Alpha Alpha, we can’t turn back. We were already on the ground.”

“American 2134, would you like to return to the gate?”

“Yes, we need to talk to maintenance, but yes, I think we were over 80 knots, so we need to get an inspection done.”

Simply put, an air traffic controller told the American Airlines plane to abort takeoff. Another smaller plane was instructed to do a “go-around” – essentially fly around the airport and then land again – but it was unable to do so.

American Airlines Flight 2134 finally took off at 2:21 p.m. and landed in Boston at 3:52 p.m. – about four hours late, according to FlightAware records.

No injuries were reported.

“The safety of our customers and team members is our top priority and we are grateful to our crew for their professionalism. We will assist the FAA in its investigation,” an American Airlines spokesperson told NBC Boston.

The FAA also announced it would investigate a near-miss last month in which two planes – one from Southwest and one from JetBlue – came within 1,000 feet of each other on the runway at Reagan National Airport, News4 reported.

In an audio recording of the April incident posted on YouTube, air traffic controllers can be heard shouting “STOP! STOP!”

No one was injured and airport operations were not significantly affected.

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, who represents the state of Virginia, said this week’s near-disaster shows how stretched the airport’s capacity is.

“This shows why the Senate’s decision to block even more flights into DCA was so dangerous,” Kaine said on X, formerly Twitter. “The FAA must stand up against any new flights that threaten safety.”

Reagan National Airport could see more flights in the future. Both the airport and some local politicians are upset about this, saying the airport is already overloaded. News4 traffic reporter Adam Tuss explains.

Earlier this month, the Senate passed an FAA bill that would establish five daily round-trip flights from Reagan National Airport.

In a statement, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), which operates Reagan National Airport, condemned the move.

“We are disappointed by the decision to cram even more flights into Reagan National Airport’s already overcrowded schedule on America’s busiest runway, which will result in further delays, cancellations and strain on airport infrastructure,” the MWAA statement said.