According to the National Public Radio website on May 14, a FAA official confirmed on the 14th that the hotline for direct communication between the Pentagon and the Air Traffic Control Tower at the Washington National Airport has been unavailable since March 2022.

  At a hearing held by the U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, questioned FAA officials about the collision of a US Army Black Hawk helicopter with a civilian airliner preparing to land near Reagan National Airport in January, killing 67 people. The FAA publicly acknowledged the above at the hearing.

  Franklin J. McIntosh, deputy chief operating officer of the FAA, said the agency was unaware of the hotline’s failure to use properly at the time of the accident.

  "We were not aware of it at first, and were informed after the accident. We insisted that the hotline be repaired first and any Pentagon action be restored," he said.

  The “dedicated, direct call line between Reagan National Airport and the Pentagon Army helipad has been closed since 2022” due to the construction of the new Pentagon tower.

  The Army did not respond to a request for comment.

  On May 5, an army unit suspended training flights in the national capital. Less than two weeks ago, the force had just resumed flights suspended due to a January crash.

  The direct reason for the suspension of this training was that on May 1, two commercial aircraft had to give up landing at Reagan National Airport because an Army helicopter carrying out training missions was too close to their flight route.

  Margaret Wallace, a professor at the Florida Institute of Technology who teaches air traffic control, said it is common for air traffic control agencies to set up hotlines with other important offices, such as weather agencies, government buildings and military facilities.

  Wallace, who has served as an air traffic controller for the U.S. Air Force, said it is useful to communicate with the hotline. "Maybe that's the commander of the Air Force Base, he won't sit there and listen to the radio, but the hotline can be called directly to him. Or call the White House directly," she said.

  At the hearing on the 14th, when Cruz asked when the hotline would resume work, McIntosh said he hoped the Department of Defense "to speed up the progress so that they can start the relevant actions as soon as possible." (Translated by Lu Di)

[Editor in charge: Wang Jinzhi]