Pentagon-to-Reagan Airport Hotline Broken Since 2022, FAA Says

A hotline that directly connects the Pentagon to the air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport hasn’t been operational since March 2022, an US Federal Aviation Administration official said.

The revelation emerged during a Senate Commerce Committee hearing Wednesday, during which lawmakers pressed the FAA about a recent incident in which two commercial flights were forced to abort landings at the airport because of a nearby US Army Black Hawk helicopter traveling to the Pentagon. The event was especially concerning because it came just a few months after a midair collision between a regional passenger jet and ...