• A hotline connecting the Pentagon and FAA air traffic controllers has been inoperable since March 2022.
• Senate hearings revealed the FAA was unaware of the outage until recently.
• The issue has raised safety concerns following a deadly helicopter collision near the airport.

A critical hotline linking the Pentagon and the air traffic control at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport has been reported "inoperable" since March 2022, according to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) official. This revelation was made during a Senate hearing where FAA Deputy Chief Franklin McIntosh acknowledged that the agency was previously unaware of the hotline's failure. The hotline, maintained by the Department of Defense, is essential for ensuring safe air traffic operations, especially given the congested airspace around Washington, D.C., according to Newsweek and Reuters.

The hotline's disconnection comes at a time of heightened scrutiny following a tragic midair collision in January that resulted in the deaths of 67 people. This incident involved a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet, prompting renewed safety investigations by both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Following the recent acknowledgment of the hotline outage, the Army's 12th Aviation Battalion has temporarily suspended helicopter flights in the D.C. area until the issue is resolved, reports BBC and NPR.

During the Senate hearing, Senator Ted Cruz expressed concern about the communication breakdown's impact on air traffic safety. "We're insisting that line be fixed before we resume any operations out of the Pentagon," McIntosh stated, emphasizing the urgency of reinstating this crucial hotline. This comes amid a backdrop of several recent near-misses involving commercial aircraft and military helicopters in the vicinity of the airport, highlighting ongoing operational challenges, according to Newsweek and Reuters.

Experts in air traffic control have noted that dedicated communication lines such as this hotline are vital for coordinating operations between civilian and military entities, particularly in densely populated airspace. The maintenance of such connections is critical to facilitate timely responses during emergencies, which could prevent accidents, as conveyed by experts and FAA officials. The FAA is reportedly undertaking a review of helicopter traffic at high-risk airports across the nation while it addresses these communication issues, according to BBC and NPR.