An American Airlines airplane was forced to temporarily abort its landing at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Tuesday to avoid a collision with another airplane that was taking off from the runway.
In a statement following the incident, the Federal Aviation Administration said, “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.”
The Federal Aviation Administration noted that the “go-around” incident with American Airlines Flight 2246 occurred at roughly 8:20 a.m. local time on Tuesday.
“A go-around is a safe, routine maneuver performed at the discretion of a pilot or at the request of an air traffic controller,” the Federal Aviation Administration stated. “It discontinues the landing approach and returns the aircraft to an altitude and configuration to safely make another approach. The pilot and the air traffic controller are in full command of the situation.”
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In a statement obtained by The Hill, American Airlines confirmed that it has a “no-fault go-around policy” since the go-around maneuver is not “abnormal” and can take place “nearly every day in the National Airspace system.”
American Airlines added, “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.”
A video of American Airlines Flight 2246 shows the airplane aborting its landing at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C. The airplane can be seen approaching the airport before it returns to a higher elevation as part of the go-around maneuver.
“In light of the tragic mid-air collision last month I understand why this was news but my experience living near the airport is that this occurs somewhat regularly,” the social media user who shared the video on X, formerly Twitter, said. “It’s a bit of a normal feature on Runway 19/1, often considered the busiest in the world.”
In another airplane incident on Tuesday, Southwest Flight 2504 was also forced to quickly initiate a go-around maneuver after touching down on the tarmac of the Chicago Midway International Airport, according to Fox News. The outlet noted that the Southwest Airlines flight was forced to take off again due to a private plane pulling in front of the airplane.
“We don’t believe that this was an air traffic control issue,” National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy told Fox News following the incident. “It appears this was a failure of the flight crew from Flexjet to listen and abide by the instructions of air traffic control.”
