FAA to investigate near-collision at major DC airport, second in past two months

The Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday the agency will investigate an incident a day earlier in which two passenger jets nearly collided at Reagan Washington National Airport, the second such incident in the past two months.

On Wednesday morning, American Airlines flight 2134 was cleared for takeoff at the same time a King Air flight was supposed to land on the crossing runway. 

The American flight was called off, resulting in a collusion being narrowly avoided, according to The Hill newspaper. A similar incident happened at the D.C. airport last month.

An FAA spokesman said an air traffic controller canceled the takeoff clearance for the American Airlines flight because another aircraft was cleared to land on an intersecting runway.

Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, in whose state the incident occurred, said the incident causes concern about airport capacity. 

"I’m relieved no one was hurt," he wrote on the social media platform, X. "But this incident underscores again that DCA is at capacity. This shows why Senate action to jam even more flights into DCA was so dangerous. The FAA must resist any new flights that compromise safety."

Earlier this month, the Senate passed legislation that would expand long-haul flights at the Virginia airport by five round trips a day in the FAA reauthorization act, according to Politico.