An American Airlines pilot canceled a landing at Reagan National Airport on Tuesday to avoid colliding with a departing flight, according to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The incident occurred at around 8:20 a.m. and comes as the National Transportation Safety Board investigates a series of close calls at the D.C. airport following a deadly collision in January that killed 67 people between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter.
“An air traffic controller instructed American Flight 2246 to perform a go-around at Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA) Airport to ensure separation was maintained between this aircraft and a preceding departure from the same runway,” the FAA said in a statement to The Hill.
According to the agency, a go-around “discontinues the landing approach and returns the aircraft to an altitude and configuration to safely make another approach.”
American Airlines, in a statement, said the flight landed “normally” after the go-around.
“American has a no-fault go-around policy as a go-around is not an abnormal flight maneuver and can occur nearly every day in the National Airspace System. It’s a tool in both the pilot’s and air traffic controller’s toolbox to help maintain safe and efficient flight operations, and any assertion that flight 2246’s canceled approach was more than that is inaccurate,” the airline said.
Hours later a Southwest airplane and a private jet had a near-miss moment at Chicago’s Midway International Airport.
A series of fatal aviation accidents have occurred in recent weeks, including a medical plane crash in northeast Philadelphia and an Alaska commuter aircraft found on sea ice.
The turmoil comes as the FAA faces significant layoffs due to the Trump administration’s directive to remove probationary workers.
