A vital communications line meant to coordinate aircraft activity between the Pentagon and Reagan Washington National Airport has been down for over two years without detection.
The disabled hotline remained unnoticed since March 2022 and only came to light after two passenger jets had to abruptly abort landings due to an uncoordinated Army helicopter's presence in active airspace near Washington, D.C., as the Washington Examiner reports.
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed last week that the dedicated hotline between Reagan National Airport’s air traffic control and military personnel at the Pentagon has not functioned since early 2022. The breakdown only became apparent after a potential collision incident involving an Army Black Hawk helicopter triggered alarms within the aviation community.
On that day, around 2:30 p.m., the helicopter approached Washington’s airspace en route to the Pentagon. As it entered the path of two incoming commercial flights, air traffic controllers were forced to issue emergency course corrections. Delta Air Lines Flight 1671 from Orlando and Republic Airways Flight 5825 from Boston both aborted their scheduled landings and conducted go-arounds, a standard safety maneuver in which aircraft circle before attempting to land again.
This close call rekindled serious concerns about coordination between military and civilian aviation operations in one of the nation’s busiest and most tightly controlled airspaces.
The Army helicopter in question belonged to a Virginia-based unit that had only recently resumed flights in the D.C. region. The unit had halted operations earlier in the year following a tragic aerial crash on January 29, when one of its helicopters collided with an American Airlines regional jet. That incident claimed 67 lives and prompted a temporary grounding of Pentagon-bound flights for review.
In response to the latest airspace disruption, the same Army unit voluntarily suspended its flights again to conduct another internal investigation. Military officials are now working closely with air traffic authorities to examine what went wrong and how to prevent future incidents.
The FAA stated that it is reviewing whether to revoke a long-standing arrangement allowing the military to operate in the region’s restricted airspace without prior approval. Such a move could drastically change the protocols and timelines for military aviation activity in the capital region.
In fact, the agency has already made several adjustments to address safety concerns. In March, authorities closed a key commercial flight path permanently and placed limits on two of Reagan National’s smaller runways. These restrictions go into effect during times when military helicopters carry out urgent or time-sensitive missions nearby.
Despite these adjustments, the threat of miscommunication remains. A central concern for officials is that the malfunctioning hotline was completely unknown for over two years -- an oversight with significant implications for airspace safety. According to Deputy FAA Air Traffic Control Chief Franklin McIntosh, it wasn’t until the go-around event that the agency realized the direct hotline had been non-operational.
“We became aware after that event,” McIntosh said. “Now that we became aware of that event, we’re insisting upon that line to be fixed before we resume any operations out of the Pentagon.”
Until the dedicated line is restored, communication between Pentagon helipad operators and Reagan’s control tower is being handled through traditional landline calls. While considered slower, these phone calls still allow for basic coordination and flight clearance. “We still have landline abilities,” McIntosh explained. He said helipad personnel can make direct calls to the operations center, where supervisors or lead air traffic controllers can receive the information and facilitate necessary coordination.
Though these workarounds exist, the FAA has made it clear that the hotline must be repaired before full-scale operations resume out of the Pentagon. There is no official timeline for when that will happen, but McIntosh noted that the Department of Defense had been alerted, and he expected steps would be taken to “expedite” the repair process.
As the situation unfolds, lawmakers are keeping a close watch. The Senate Commerce Committee, led by Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, announced that it is actively monitoring both the safety situation at Reagan National and the broader implications for civil-military aviation coordination. “Let me say, the developments of DCA and its airspace are extremely concerning,” Cruz said. He added that the committee -- working alongside Senators Maria Cantwell, Tammy Duckworth, and Jerry Moran -- is focused on ensuring all airspace users behave responsibly and that a safe return to operations is achieved.
In the meantime, both civilian and military aviation officials are navigating the fallout from the newly discovered communications breakdown. With no direct channel currently available, close coordination and transparent updates will be key in preventing further incidents.
