The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating a Saturday morning incident of false midair collision alerts. At least 12 flights reported receiving false alerts, with the total number of affected flights yet to be confirmed. All false alerts, however, happened as planes were approaching the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Said airport is where the tragic and deadly crash between an aircraft and a Black Hawk helicopter took place back in January.
Videos by Wide Open Country
According to CBS News, on Saturday, March 1, at least 12 flight crews reported receiving false Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) alerts. This led to three of them performing go-arounds between 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. EST. Moreover, at around 9 a.m., six similar incidents occurred in the short span of 11 minutes.
As reported by the New York Post, a Republic Airline pilot told the airport's control tower they had received an alert past 9 a.m. "We were about 1200 feet, [when the TCAS said] there was somebody diving straight onto us," the pilot said. The control tower then told another Republic flight, "It's been happening all morning. Let me know if you see anything. No one else has seen anything except for on the TCAS."
The pilot would then respond, noting the strange nature of the incident. "Yeah, we got a little something there. It said on the TCAS that it was 600 feet above us. And we didn't see anything," the pilot said.
False Alerts
American Eagle flight 4469, which was operated by Republic Airways, landed at the Washington airport after receiving an alert. They were instructed by TCAS to perform evasive maneuvers to prevent a collision with an object. After landing, tower controllers asked the pilots, "Did you actually visibly see anything other than what the TCAS was showing?"
The pilots would respond, "Negative, it would just say an unknown target descending rapidly." The controller would reply, "Alright, that's the same sort of reports we've been getting. It seemed like it had stopped, but it sounds like it's starting again."
The FAA shared a statement with CBS News, stating that the alerts were issued without any other aircraft nearby. "Some of the crews executed go-arounds as a result of the alerts. The FAA is investigating why the alerts occurred," the statement reads.
"I've never heard of something like this," Robert Sumwalt, a transportation safety analyst, told the outlet. "Nuisance alerts, yes, they happen. But not like this, where several planes have it at the same location."
Back in January, American Airlines Flight 5342 collided mid-air with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter as the former approached Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. This resulted in the deaths of 67 people, including 64 passengers and crew members aboard the regional aircraft and three soldiers inside the helicopter.
