At Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, a United flight encountered a kite while attempting to land, marking the latest airplane incident at this Virginia airport.
United Airlines flight 654 from Houston was attempting to land before tensions rose as a nearby kite flew ‘right into the flightpath.’
Air traffic control communicated with the flight’s pilots about the kite, noting its position over the park at about 100 feet above the ground and seemingly in line with the flight path.
After receiving reports of a kite flying at Gravely Point, police responded to the scene. Flying kites in this area is prohibited due to the potential risks they pose to low-flying aircraft, as reported by ABC 13.
Thankfully, the plane landed safely and there were no reported injuries or damages to the aircraft, United said in a statement to the outlet.
‘We are aware of reports that a kite struck UA flight 654 from Houston to Reagan Airport in Washington DC,’ the statement said.
‘The aircraft landed safely, customers deplaned normally and upon inspection there was no damage to the aircraft.’
Authorities say that the kite was returned to its owner shortly after it was seized by officers. No charges were filed.
United Airlines Flight 654 from Houston was attempting to land at the Virginia airport before tensions rose as a nearby kite flew ‘right into the flightpath’
Reagan National Airport has been facing scrutiny following the death of 67 people in January after an American Airlines flight collided with a Black Hawk helicopter
‘We are aware of reports that a kite struck UA flight 654 from Houston to Reagan Airport in Washington DC,’ United said in a statement. ‘The aircraft landed safely, customers deplaned normally and upon inspection there was no damage to the aircraft’
On Friday, a Delta passenger flight departing Reagan National was diverted to avoid a potential collision with a group of Air Force jets.
Just earlier this week, the airport came under scrutiny following a physical altercation between two on-duty tower controllers after a blazing argument led one to punch the other.
By the time the brawling colleagues were separated on Thursday, there was blood spattered over a control console, according to our insider.
The tower would likely have had a supervisor and at least six or seven controllers directing air traffic at the time.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it is investigating the shocking incident.
‘I’ve heard of controllers going at it in the parking lot but this was on a whole new level,’ the source told DailyMail.com.
‘That facility is out of control. People are cracking because of what happened in January.’
An FAA spokesman said that they were ‘investigating the matter.’
The very same airport saw one of the deadliest crashes in 16 years in January after 64 passengers onboard an American Airlines flight collided with a Black Hawk helicopter.
Emergency units respond after a passenger aircraft collided with a helicopter in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington Airport on January 30
There was only one controller managing traffic for both helicopters and planes at the time – a job normally handled by two people – because of staffing shortages at the DC-area airport, one of the Nation’s busiest.
‘The people working in that tower had to sit and watch bodies being pulled out of the river. There was no way you could not see it,’ the source added.
‘Leadership has not given these people enough support. They never really sent in professionals to make sure these people were okay mentally.’
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board are yet to release their final report into the January 29 tragedy, insisting the investigation could take up to a year.
But a preliminary report highlighted the dangers of commercial flights and helicopters operating in close proximity to one another above the Nation’s capital.
Dailey Crafton, the brother of Casey Crafton, one of the victims of the crash, said before Thursday’s hearing that he wants officials to urgently address the dangerously congested skies near Reagan National airport.
‘There’s been so many near misses, and it took this crash for anyone to wake up and do anything about it,’ he told USA Today.
The tensions surrounding air travel have increased as more stories of in-air mishaps come to light, and President Donald Trump blamed January’s collision on ‘DEI’ hiring within the FAA.
Trump issues a Presidential memo prohibiting the regulator from promoting diversity, equity and including over competence.
