American Airlines flight forced to abort landing at Reagan National Airport to avoid another plane
"It felt like the pilot had to make an emergency maneuver,” passenger Itai Vardi told The New York Times.
The control tower is pictured at Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on February 1. An American Airlines flight arriving at Ronald Reagan National Airport was forced to abandon its landing to avoid another aircraft on February 25, the New York Times reported. (Photo credit: Al Drago/Getty Images/File via CNN Newsource)
(CNN) — An American Airlines flight arriving at Ronald Reagan National Airport was forced to abort its landing to avoid another aircraft Tuesday, officials said, less than a month after a midair collision killed 67 people near the same airport and roughly 90 minutes before another close call between a passenger plane and a private jet in Chicago.
The close calls come as officials are investigating a string of safety incidents in recent weeks, including the deadly midair collision over the Potomac River, a Medevac jet crash in Philadelphia and a regional airline crash off the coast of Nome, Alaska, that killed 10 people. And last week, a Delta plane crashed while landing in Toronto, flipping upside-down as a wing – engulfed in flames – broke away from the fuselage. All 80 people on board survived.
The Tuesday incident at the Washington, DC, airport happened around 8:20 a.m. as American Airlines Flight 2246, en route from Boston, was preparing to land, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
Air traffic control instructed the American Airlines flight to perform a go-around to “ensure separation was maintained between this aircraft and a preceding departure from the same runway,” the FAA told CNN.
A go-around is a routine maneuver that allows an aircraft to safely make an alternate landing “at the discretion of a pilot or at the request of an air traffic controller,” the FAA said.
“There was nothing gradual about it. It felt like the pilot had to make an emergency maneuver,” passenger Itai Vardi told The New York Times.
“American 2246, just go around. Turn right heading at 250, climb maintain 3,000,” an air traffic controller is heard telling the American Airlines plane, according to audio from LiveATC.net.
The National Transportation Safety Board did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority directed questions to the airline.
“It was a standard go around, nothing out of the usual,” the airline told CNN.
Experts and lawmakers have raised concerns about the crowded airspace above the Washington region, with tight security measures in place, military and government helicopters regularly flying through and flights taking off at Reagan National Airport, which boasts the busiest runway in the country.
Less than 90 minutes later at another major US air travel hub – Chicago Midway International Airport – a Southwest Airlines flight was forced to abandon its landing at the last minute as a private jet crossed the runway it was approaching.
The Southwest flight was arriving from Omaha, Nebraska, and the private jet, a Bombardier Challenger 350, was headed to Knoxville, Tennessee, according to FlightRadar24. Air traffic control instructed the private jet to hold short of the runway, but video shows it continued across as the Southwest flight touched down.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement on X, “It is imperative that pilots follow the instructions of air traffic controllers. If they do not, their licenses will be pulled.” Duffy said he would provide additional updates when they become available.
Flexjet, the company operating the Bombardier Challenger 350, is “aware of the occurrence” in Chicago and “was working to gather more information on this situation,” a spokesperson said in a statement. The private jet can seat up to nine passengers, according to configurations posted on Flexjet’s website.
The planes came as close as approximately 2,050 feet before the Southwest plane initiated the go-around, according to FlightRadar24.
Between January 2023 and September 2024, the NTSB investigated 13 runway incursions involving commercial, or for-hire, flights. Those incursions varied, from some with “no immediate safety consequences” to “narrowly” avoiding a collision.
CNN’s Lauren Mascarenhas, Isaac Yee, Andy Rose, Sara Smart, Sharif Paget, Taliah Miller and Pete Muntean contributed to this report.
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