A hotline supposed to connect the Pentagon with local air traffic controllers in Washington DC has been “inoperable” since 2022, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) official has testified.
At a Senate hearing on Wednesday, FAA officials said they only learned of the problem this month after controllers at Ronald Reagan national airport had to wave off two flights attempting to land because of a nearby US Army helicopter.
That incident came just a week after a nearby army aviation unit said it would resume training flights.
Those flights were paused following a January crash between a military helicopter and passenger plane at the airport that left 67 dead.
Deputy air traffic control head Franklin McIntosh told senators that the hotline was operated by the defence department and that his agency had been unaware of any problems.
It is believed to have been functioning properly before March 2022.
“We’re insisting that line be fixed before we resume any operations out of the Pentagon,” Mr McIntosh added.
Additionally, he said that, after the aborted landing incident, officials mulled mandating that military flights in the area needed to be cleared by the FAA before taking off.
Before that could take place, the commander of the 12th Aviation Battalion – which ferries senior Pentagon officials around Washington DC – announced on 5 May that the unit was again pausing flights.
The 29 January midair crash starkly highlighted concerns about coordination in the congested skies near Washington.
All 64 people aboard the American Airlines-operated plane died, as well as three crew members of Blackhawk Helicopter which had taken off from Fort Belvoir in Virginia on a training mission.
In the more recent incidents earlier this month, two aircraft from Delta and Republic Airways were told by air traffic controllers to perform “go-arounds” because of an approaching Army helicopter, similar to the one that had been involved in the crash.
The FAA, along with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating the recent near-misses.
The NTSB had previously faulted the FAA for failing to take action despite 85 close calls near Reagan airport in the three-years before the January crash.
Between 2011 and 2024, planes received alerts to take evasive actions at a rate of about one per week, NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said in March.
The FAA is also carrying out a review of helicopter traffic at high-risk airports around the country, including Harry Reid Airport in Las Vegas.