The control tower at Reagan National Airport went silent early Wednesday, forcing the pilots of two airliners carrying a total of 165 passengers and crew members to land on their own.
Tower at Reagan National goes silent as planes attempt to land
Audio: Radio transmissions with American Flight No. 1900
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The tower, which normally is staffed by one air-traffic controller from midnight to 6 a.m., did not respond to pilot requests for landing assistance or to phone calls from controllers elsewhere in the region, who also used a “shout line,” which pipes into a loudspeaker in the tower, internal records show.
Audio: Radio transmissions with American Flight No. 1900
Dec, 31, 2010: Errors by air traffic controllers set record
Aug. 30, 2010: Mistakes rise for Washington region’s air traffic controllers
The tower, which normally is staffed by one air-traffic controller from midnight to 6 a.m., did not respond to pilot requests for landing assistance or to phone calls from controllers elsewhere in the region, who also used a “shout line,” which pipes into a loudspeaker in the tower, internal records show.
An American Airlines Boeing 737 flying in from Miami with 97 people on board circled the airport after receiving no response from the tower at midnight. Minutes later, a United Airlines Airbus 320 flying in from Chicago with 68 people on board also got no answer fromthe tower.
Both planes landed safely after their pilots took matters into their own hands, broadcasting their progress as they approached and landed. They also were communicating with controllers at a separate facility in the region that does not handle landings.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said late Wednesday he is instructing the agency to increase controller staffing at the airport during the late shift.
“Today I directed the FAA to place two air traffic controllers at Ronald Reagan WashingtonNational Airport’s control tower on the midnight shift,” he said in a statement. “It is not acceptable to have just one controller in the tower managing air traffic in this critical air space. I have also asked FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt to study staffing levels at other airports around the country.”
The incident, which the National Transportation Safety Board also is reviewing, is the second time in as many years that the tower at National has gone silent, said a source familiar with tower operations who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak for the FAA. The previous time, the lone controller on duty left his swipe-card pass key behind when he stepped outside the tower’s secure door and was unable to get back in, the source said.
A controller at another facility mentioned that incident as the pilots were trying to land Wednesday morning.
A missed handoff
The nation’s air traffic control system has many layers, with a network of en-route controllers directing planes when they are at or near cruising altitude. The airspace beneath that is controlled by Terminal Radar Approach Control facilities known as TRACONs. Takeoffs and the final miles of runway approach are handled by controllers in airport towers.
After midnight, when traffic slows, one person is on duty at the National Airport tower, a shift reserved for a supervisor rather than a regular controller. The planes that landed without tower help were two of the last three inbound commercial flights until 5 a.m., the source said.
A few minutes after midnight on Wednesday, radio recordings show, the TRACON controller handling the flight from Miami made a routine verbal handoff, telling the pilot to contact the tower.
Unable to reach anyone at National, the pilot aborted the approach, circled the airport and radioed the Potomac TRACON controller for help in aligning the plane for landing. A few minutes later, when the United plane approached for landing, the TRACON controller told him that the tower was unmanned.
The TRACON controller had a similar conversation with a second American plane.
“So you’re aware,” the controller said, “the tower is apparently not manned. We’ve made a few phone calls. Two airplanes went in the past 10-15 minutes, so you can expect to go into an uncontrolled airport.”
“Is there a reason it’s not manned?” the American pilot asked.
“Well, I’m going to take a guess,” the controller replied, “and say that the controller got locked out. I’ve heard of it happening before.”
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Every captain is being “systematically” verified, followed by co-pilots and other license-holders, Director General of Civil Aviation E.K. Bharat Bhushan said today by phone from New Delhi. The industry regulator is also planning to announce improvements in its policiesand procedures in about 10 days’ time, he said without elaborating.
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