Introduction
Introduction Statistics Contact Development Disclaimer Help
.-') _ .-') _
( OO ) ) ( OO ) )
.-----. ,--./ ,--,' ,--./ ,--,'
' .--./ | \ | |\ | \ | |\
| |('-. | \| | )| \| | )
/_) |OO )| . |/ | . |/
|| |`-'| | |\ | | |\ |
(_' '--'\ | | \ | | | \ |
`-----' `--' `--' `--' `--'
lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
Confusion over timing of a military flyover in March preceded a close
call at Washington, D.C. area airport, NTSB finds
By Pete Muntean, Aaron Cooper, CNN
Updated:
6:45 PM EDT, Thu July 3, 2025
Source: CNN
A change in timing of a military flyover at Arlington National Cemetery
ended with four Air Force jets dangerously close to a Delta Air Lines
Airbus A319 taking off from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport,
according to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety
board.
The formation of four T-38 trainer jets was scheduled to fly over the
airport at 3:21 p.m. on March 28 on the way to the neighboring cemetery
under the control of the Potomac Consolidated Terminal Radar Approach
Control, or TRACON.
Flights taking off from national airport were being managed by a
different team of air traffic controllers located in the tower at the
airport.
The airport was the site of a mid-air collision in January between a
Blackhawk helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet which killed
67 people.
In March, about 40 minutes before the flyover was to happen, the TRACON
called the tower to confirm they were aware of the incoming military
jets, according to air traffic control audio recordings provided to the
NTSB by the Federal Aviation Administration.
“The (controller in charge) acknowledged and stated that they were
waiting for a ‘stop the departures time,’” the NTSB said.
The planes would be over the “target” at 3:21 and “the stop time
would be 17,” the TRACON responded, according to the report. “If it
changed, they would call back.”
At 3:02 p.m., about five seconds after a shift change briefing
concluded, the T-38’s asked the TRACON to change their timing and the
controller provided a target time of 3:15.
However, 10 minutes later, the TRACON operations supervisor told the
tower “stop all departures hard time is now seventeen.”
The tower continued to clear planes to take off, including Delta flight
2983, which started down the runway at 3:15 p.m.
Twenty-two seconds later the TRACON supervisors called the tower and
asked why they were allowing planes to depart.
It was too late to halt the Delta flight’s takeoff, so controllers
warned the military planes to look out and keep away from it.
Politicians have criticized the FAA for not having enough staff at the
tower, and the NTSB preliminary report noted a staffing shortage during
this incident.
“Due to staffing constraints” the tower operations supervisor had
completed their shift at the time of the close call and a controller In
charge was providing “general oversight at the time of the event,”
the report notes.
The NTSB did not place blame, or identify the cause of the problem,
which usually comes in the final report about 18 months after an
incident.
<- back to index
You are viewing proxied material from codevoid.de. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.