American Airlines Flight 2246, arriving from Boston, was forced to perform a go-around maneuver at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport due to another aircraft departing from the same runway. The incident happened about 8:20 am Tuesday, just under two hours before Southwest Flight 2504, attempting to land at Chicago’s Midway Airport.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the American Airlines pilots made a precautionary go-around after being instructed by air traffic controllers to avoid getting too close to the departing plane. The flight crew followed standard procedures and landed safely.
Aviation experts say that such incidents are not uncommon, citing recent data from the FAA. Nearly 4 out of every 1,000 arrivals at the nation’s 30 busiest airports involved go-arounds in fiscal year 2023. Experts point to various reasons for these maneuvers, including bad weather, wildlife on the runway, or pilot errors.
Pilots are trained to conduct go-around maneuvers, and when flying in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), they must plan for missed approaches. The National Transportation Safety Board published reports on recent close calls at airports in Honolulu and Sarasota, Florida, citing design issues and controller mistakes as contributing factors.
The incident highlights the importance of pilots following standard procedures and air traffic controllers properly monitoring air traffic. As Joslin, a professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s College of Aviation, noted, “It’s not always just because (the plane) is getting ready to hit somebody.”
Source: https://apnews.com/article/reagan-airport-american-flight-chicago-plane-5853f64561eba0d879f9c5a28d9e256a