February 26, 2025
There was nothing gradual about it. It felt like the pilot had to make an emergency maneuver.
Passenger Itai Vardi describing an aborted landing by an American Airlines flight from Boston to Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C.; the airplane landed safely.
Why It Matters: Weeks after a deadly midair collision between a military helicopter and a passenger plane, questions continue about flight safety, especially in the Washington, D.C., area. Both the FAA and American Airlines said the plane’s maneuver was not unusual. On the same day, a passenger plane landing in Midway Airport in Chicago had to abort a landing to avoid a private plane. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy issued this statement following that event: “The NTSB and FAA are investigating the Chicago Midway International Airport incident. I will provide more updates once I have them. However, it is imperative that pilots follow the instructions of air traffic controllers. If they do not, their licenses will be pulled.”
American Airlines: “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 FAA: “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”
Read More: American Airlines flight from Boston aborts landing at D.C. airport to avoid departing plane (CBS News)
Two Planes, in Washington and Chicago, Abort Landings to Avoid Collisions (The New York Times)
by Jenna Lee, Founder of SmartHER News
