A critical hotline linking air traffic controllers at Reagan National Airport with the Pentagon has been out of service since March 2022, the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed on Wednesday.
Deputy FAA Air Traffic Control chief Franklin McIntosh told senators at a Commerce Committee hearing that the problem was only uncovered after air traffic controllers at Reagan National were forced to redirect two passenger planes when an unannounced Army helicopter neared the Pentagon.
“We became aware after that event, and now that we became aware of that event, we’re insisting upon that line to be fixed before we resume any operations out of the Pentagon,” McIntosh said in response to a question from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), the chairman of the committee.
McIntosh could not offer a timeline for when the hotline would be operational, only saying he expects “the DOD to expedite” the process. When Cruz asked how communication occurred in the absence of the hotline, McIntosh said controllers used standard landline calls from the Pentagon helipad to tower operations to coordinate movements.
“We still have landline abilities. We can make phone calls from the helipad to the operation, where the supervisor, or even the command or the controller in charge, can answer so we’re aware of the activity, and if there was a departure clearance needed, we’d be able to relay it via that mechanism,” McIntosh said.
“Let me say, the developments of DCA and its airspace are extremely concerning. And together with Senators Cantwell, Duckworth, and Moran, this committee remains laser focused on monitoring a safe return to operations at DCA and making sure all users in the airspace are operating responsibly,” Cruz responded.
The FAA said Friday that air traffic controllers instructed two incoming flights, Delta Air Lines Flight 1671 from Orlando and Republic Airways Flight 5825 from Boston, to perform a “go-around” around 2:30 p.m. after a Black Hawk helicopter en route to the Pentagon entered their flight path. A go-around is a standard safety maneuver in which a plane aborts its landing and circles before making another approach.
The incident occurred just one week after an Army unit based in Virginia announced it was restarting operations in the Washington, D.C. area, following a deadly Jan. 29 collision between one of its helicopters and a regional jet operated by American Airlines that killed 67 people.
NEWARK AIRPORT COMMUNICATIONS MELTDOWN RENEWS DEMANDS FOR FAA SLOT CONTROLS
Following the incident, McIntosh said officials considered revoking a special agreement that lets the military operate in Washington airspace without first getting FAA approval. But before the agency acted, the Virginia-based Army unit voluntarily halted its Pentagon-bound helicopter flights to conduct an internal review.
In March, the FAA permanently shut down a major flight route and restricted access to two smaller runways at the airport whenever helicopters on urgent missions are active nearby.