FAA stops ‘opposite direction’ runway ops
The FAA has issued a temporary suspension of ‘opposite direction’ runway operations as a direct result of investigations into the recent near miss of three aircraft on runways at Reagan National Airport (DCA).
FAA acting administrator, Michael Huerta cited the fact that investigations turned up "no standard protocol’ for a switch from one-way traffic to two-way traffic as the key reason for the suspension. He said that lack of a standard procedure in the switch was a likely cause of the ‘loss of separation’ incident that happened when incoming and outgoing traffic at DCA switched directions and flights came dangerously close to each other. He also said that front line managers appear to be juggling administrative tasks in addition to their tower operations duties and that would need to be changed.
"We need to be sure that they are solely focused on the operations in the facility and not handling administrative duties" during busy times," he wrote in a statement today.
The temporary suspension of these operations was put in place, Huerta said, because of an "abundance of caution." He said that the FAA would have protocols in place to resume the operations in a month.
Gretchen Kelly
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