Lawmakers urge FAA to address safety issues at Washington airport after incidents

Three senior Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday urged the Federal Aviation Administration to address significant safety issues at Reagan Washington National Airport and maintain reduced air traffic after a series of troubling incidents.

Representatives Rick Larsen and Steve Cohen and Senator Tammy Duckworth in a joint letter to the FAA seen by Reuters also urged the FAA to keep the hourly aircraft arrival rate at Reagan at reduced levels, at least until the Washington air traffic control tower is fully staffed up and fully addresses safety risks identified from the agency’s ongoing review.

Earlier this month, the FAA said it may further slow flight arrivals at Reagan Washington after a January 29 collision between a helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet near the airport, also known as DCA, killed 67 people.

"Incidents at DCA continue to occur at an alarming rate," wrote the lawmakers, who are the top Democrats on committees overseeing aviation. "We remain concerned that the mounting stress arising from the January 29 accident is having a lasting effect on air traffic controllers."

An FAA spokesperson said the agency will respond directly to the lawmakers.

The FAA said this month it is increasing operational supervisor staffing from six to eight and was reviewing air traffic control staffing figures at Reagan amid growing concerns about safety and stress at the airport just outside Washington.

The FAA now allows 30 arrivals per hour at Reagan after reducing that to 26 after the crash, when two smaller runways were closed.

Acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau said in March the agency could eventually return to 32 arrivals per hour. "But right now, we're at 30, and we plan to maintain that until such time as we assess the safety and being able to go to a higher rate," he told Congress, adding the agency must improve. "We have to do better."

Last month, the FAA imposed permanent restrictions on helicopter traffic around Reagan, home to the single busiest runway in the United States. The FAA has mandated a halt to air traffic when essential helicopters are operating near Reagan.

In March, a near miss between a departing Delta Air Lines A319 and a group of Air Force jets approaching Arlington National Cemetery that triggered a cockpit collision warning for the Delta plane, prompted renewed safety concerns.

Also last month, more than a dozen airplanes on approach to Reagan received faulty cockpit alerts that a senator said were due to government testing. At least six planes aborted landings as a result.

In March, a fight occurred in the Reagan air traffic control tower and an employee was arrested and placed on leave, the FAA said.