FAA investigating multiple false collision warnings on flights approaching DC airport

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Monday it is investigating multiple false collision warnings on flights approaching Reagan Washington National Airport.

In an emailed statement sent to The Hill on Monday, the agency said that multiple “flight crews inbound to Reagan Washington National Airport received onboard alerts Saturday indicating another aircraft was nearby” despite “other aircraft” not being close. 

“Some of the crews executed go-arounds as a result of the alerts,” the FAA said in the statement. “The FAA is investigating why the alerts occurred.”

A go-around ends “the landing approach and returns the aircraft to an altitude and configuration to safely make another approach,” the FAA has said previously.

In late January, 67 people died due to the collision of an American Americans jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter near National Airport. The crash rattled the nation and a survey found a drop in confidence in air safety and federal government agencies that sustain it following the crash.

Last Tuesday, according to the FAA, a pilot with American Airlines didn’t go ahead with a landing at National Airport so the aircraft would not collide with a departing flight. 

“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,” a previous statement from the FAA to The Hill reads.