ARLINGTON, Va. — An FAA spokesperson says an air traffic controller canceled takeoff clearance for American Airlines Flight 2134 around 10:30am on Wednesday because another flight was cleared to land on an intersecting runway at the same time at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
You can hear the urgency in the voice of the quick thinking air traffic controller as he cleared the runway for the American Airlines flight, then quickly stopped it.
There have been similar situations at DCA in the last two months. WUSA9 has reported on two "near miss" incidents. Last month, two planes came within three hundred feet of each other.
The agency says, it is investigating this latest situation.
All of this as airlines are trying to add more flights in and out of DCA. Just last week, Southwest Airlines says, it's applying to add daily nonstop flights between National and Las Vegas. American Airlines says, it hopes to launch nonstop service to San Antonio. Meanwhile, Alaska Airlines is looking into a new flight to San Diego.
These new slots were tacked onto the FAA Funding Bill passed by Congress, and some elected leaders in our area are concerned we could see more close calls with more flights.
“I’m relieved no one was hurt. But this incident underscores again that DCA is at capacity. This shows why Senate action to jam even more flights into DCA was so dangerous. The FAA must resist any new flights that compromise safety.” Senator Tim Kaine said in a tweet.
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