The Federal Aviation Administration launched an investigation into multiple mid-air collision warnings heard by more than a dozen flights on the approach to Ronald Reagan National Airport this past weekend. The planes reportedly heard the warnings despite there being no other air traffic in the immediate vicinity.
Several flight crews on aircraft due to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport, which is near Washington DC, heard warnings on their alerts on their Traffic Collision Avoidance System, reports CNN. The messages told crews that another aircraft “was nearby when no other aircraft were in the area,” the FAA said in a statement.
The mid-air collision warnings come just weeks after a deadly crash between a helicopter and a commercial jet in the skies above Washington DC The aerial crash between American Eagle flight 5342 and a US Army Blackhawk helicopter occurred just a few miles from Ronald Reagan National Airport and killed 67 people.
How many crews heard the warnings?
More than 10 incidents of aircraft receiving false collision warnings on their TCAS were reported by CBS News this weekend. The incidents reportedly occurred early on Saturday morning with the peak seeing six aircraft receiving the warnings within around 11 minutes of each other after 9 a.m. on Saturday:
“It’s been happening all morning. Let me know if you see anything. No one else has seen anything except for on the TCAS,” one air traffic controller can be heard telling an inbound flight. Based on CBS News’ review of the ATC audio, at least 12 flight crews reported receiving apparent false TCAS alerts — leading three flights to perform go-arounds between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. ET on Saturday.
Pilots of impacted flights were asked by air traffic controllers if they had seen any aircraft or other obstacles on their approach once they safely touched down at Reagan. One responded “negative, it would just say an unknown target descending rapidly,” CBS News added.
What is the Traffic Collision Avoidance System?
The warnings were all being sent by the Traffic Collision Avoidance System on each aircraft. This system is separate to air traffic control and works by searching the airspace using radio frequencies from transponders found on other planes in the sky.
If another signal is picked up by TCAS, then the system warns crews of a potential collision and gives the pilots instructions on how to safely get out of any dangerous situation. In this instance, the system directed some aircraft to dive suddenly or carry out go-around maneuvers.
The system can be susceptible to interference in some instances, especially when approaching an airport to land, adds CNN. It is rare for so many aircraft to receive the same warnings in quick succession, the site explained.
What is going on with American air travel?
The incidents at Reagan come at a tough time for American aviation. Just a few miles from Reagan airport, a deadly collision claimed the lives of almost 70 people earlier this year, and a slew of deadly crashes in the U.S. means that the start of 2025 is one of the deadliest periods in American aviation for decades.
The blame for many issues have fallen on the Federal Aviation Administration, with president Donald Trump attributing some shortcomings to diversity policies that he brought in at the FAA. That is, of course, a ridiculous leap to make and one that has zero proof to back it up.
That hasn’t stopped Trump from slashing DEI schemes across the U.S. government, and he’s now sent his pet billionaire, Elon Musk, into the FAA in an attempt to tighten security and safety at the administration. So far, though, Musk appears to have just siphoned off money to fund contracts with his wireless internet provider, Starlink.
