On Saturday, pilots approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport received unexpected onboard alerts warning of nearby aircraft—despite an empty sky. In several cases, pilots followed procedure, aborted their landings, and initiated a go-around. But there was nothing in sight when they glanced around.
Now, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is probing why things went wrong. “Some flight crews received onboard notifications telling them that there was another plane nearby when there were no other planes present,” the FAA stated in a statement. “We are probing why these notifications have arisen.”
Though no accidents or injuries were reported, aviation experts note that such incidents are rare. “I’ve never heard of something like this,” said Robert Sumwalt, a former chair of the National Transportation Safety Board. “Nuisance alerts do occur, but not like this—where multiple aircraft have them in the same place.”
Concerns about airspace safety near Reagan National have already been raised following a serious collision in January, when an Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed into an American Airlines regional jet near the airport. The accident generated questions about safety in the area.
Pilots took all the proper procedures this time, staying out of any actual danger. As investigators work to determine the cause, one question remains: What triggered these unexpected warnings, and could they happen again?
