Passenger jet forced to abort landing at Reagan Washington National Airport due to vehicle on the runway
The jet was forced to abort its landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and circle the airport when pilots spotted an airport vehicle on the runway.
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is seen here along the Potomac River from the Washington Monument. (Photo credit: Kevin Carter/Getty Images/File via CNN Newsource)
Washington (CNN) — The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating after a regional jet was forced to abort its landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and circle the airport when pilots spotted an airport vehicle on the runway.
American Airlines Flight 4528, operated by Republic Airways, was arriving from Detroit around 7 a.m. Monday when the pilot noticed the potential hazard.
“Tower, is there a vehicle on (runway) 33?” the pilot asked the air traffic controller according to audio archived by the website LiveATC.net.
“Affirmative. Go around,” the controller responded.
Less than 12 seconds later, the vehicle was off the runway, but the plane had already started circling the airport. It landed safely about 15 minutes later.
The go-around was ordered “because maintenance crews were inspecting the runway,” the FAA said in a statement.
Tracking data from the website Flightradar24 shows the plane was only 150 feet above the ground and about three-quarters of a mile away from the end of the runway when it aborted the landing.
The incident is the latest close call at Washington’s Reagan National Airport since the beginning of the year.
In January, 67 people were killed when an American Airlines regional jet, operated by PSA Airlines, was landing on runway 33 when an Army Black Hawk helicopter on a training mission collided with it.
The busy airspace around the airport has been under intense scrutiny following the midair collision. A helicopter route was ultimately closed, air traffic control staffing changed, and new rules imposed.
Still, in March, a collision alarm sounded in the cockpit of a Delta Air Lines jet when Air Force jets conducting a flyover at Arlington National Cemetery got too close, and in May, an Army helicopter circling the neighboring Pentagon, caused two passenger jets to abort landings.
CNN’s Alexandra Skores contributed to this report.
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