WNYUZ
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • World
  • Health
  • Entertainment
  • Tech
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • World
  • Health
  • Entertainment
  • Tech
No Result
View All Result
WNYUZ
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Pentagon hotline to Washington DC airport controllers inoperable since 2022

May 14, 2025
in News
Yahoo news home
491
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A hotline connecting the Pentagon and Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controllers at Reagan Washington National Airport has been inoperable since March 2022, an FAA official told a Senate committee on Wednesday.

The U.S. Army said on May 5 that it was suspending helicopter training flights in the vicinity of the Pentagon after two passenger airline flights were forced to abort landings at Reagan because a Black Hawk helicopter was flying nearby.

On January 29, a Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines passenger jet near Reagan Washington National Airport, killing 67 people.

Franklin McIntosh, the FAA’s deputy head of air traffic control, told the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday that the agency would not allow the Pentagon to resume the helicopter flights until the hotline is fixed. He said the hotline was maintained by the Pentagon and the FAA had only recently learned it was out of service.

The Army’s 12th Aviation Battalion has temporarily halted training flights in and around the Pentagon while it determines what happened during the May 1 flight. The battalion is the Army unit responsible for such flights.

Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz said the FAA has been preparing to suspend the FAA’s letter of agreement between the Army and FAA that gives the Army the right to operate without having to ask for clearance for each flight before the Army acts.

The Pentagon declined to comment.

“We were extremely troubled by the incident that occurred,” McIntosh said. “We were ready to weigh any option available that we could use… to bring safety measures and better behaviors from the DOD (Department of Defense).”

Separately, McIntosh said a backup telecommunications line at the facility handling flights in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey on April 28 had failed when controllers lost communication for 90 seconds from the primary line.

“The second line did not kick in … That’s what caused the disruption,” McIntosh said. The FAA is adding a third redundant line to the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control to prevent further incidents.

(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

The post Pentagon hotline to Washington DC airport controllers inoperable since 2022 appeared first on Reuters.

Tags: air traffic controlair traffic controllersairline flightsBlack Hawk helicopterFAA officialFederal Aviation Administrationhelicopter flightsPentagonReutersSenate Commerce CommitteeWashington National AirportYahooYahoo News
Share196Tweet123Share
Yahoo news home
News

Iran missile attacks on Israel kill 5, while Israel claims it now has air superiority over Tehran

June 16, 2025

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Iran fired a new wave of missile attacks on Israel early Monday, killing at least ...

Read more
News

Iran strikes Tel Aviv and Haifa as Israel conflict enters fourth day

June 16, 2025
News

Man suspected of shooting 2 Minnesota lawmakers caught, AP sources says

June 15, 2025
News

Trump directs ICE to expand deportations in Democratic-run cities, undeterred by protests

June 15, 2025
News

A new kind of AI bot takes over the web

June 15, 2025
Yahoo entertainment home

Mark Hamill is a ‘Star Wars’ icon. But he’s loving his character actor era.

June 15, 2025
Yahoo news home

Israel and Iran broaden strikes during third day of escalating war

June 15, 2025
Yahoo news home

The GOP’s big bill would bring changes to Medicaid for millions

June 15, 2025

© 2025 WNyuz.com

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • World
  • Health
  • Entertainment
  • Tech

© 2025 WNyuz.com