05-03-2025, 09:55 PM
Two aviation items:
FAA: Army helicopter taking ‘scenic route’ near Reagan National forces two passenger jets to shift course
An emergency Amazon plane bearing Christmas gifts from China?
Probably not, but the FAA didn’t actually say who was on this “priority transport” headed to the Pentagon in a Blackhawk. Or why it was allowed to fly (again!) in commercial airspace just two months after a Blackhawk took down a commercial flight, killing 67 in the deadliest disaster since 2001.
miley-shocked003:
Item 2:
Major delays at Newark Airport roll into sixth day as FAA cites air traffic control staffing issues
…but the CEO of United, who says he has no choice but to cancel 35 flights into EWR every day (for safety) until this gets sorted, was not so cagey:
miley-shocked003:
What was behind that? No one is saying. But maybe the FAA should ask air traffic controllers why they are so unhappy as to walk away from their employment? And maybe inform the stranded/cancelled passengers?
Just spitballing here.
FAA: Army helicopter taking ‘scenic route’ near Reagan National forces two passenger jets to shift course
In a statement, the FAA on Friday said a “priority transport” inbound for the Pentagon’s helipad made both a Delta Air Lines flight and a Republic Airways flight perform go-arounds.
An emergency Amazon plane bearing Christmas gifts from China?
Probably not, but the FAA didn’t actually say who was on this “priority transport” headed to the Pentagon in a Blackhawk. Or why it was allowed to fly (again!) in commercial airspace just two months after a Blackhawk took down a commercial flight, killing 67 in the deadliest disaster since 2001.
… According to the email written Friday by Chris Senn, FAA’s assistant administrator for government and industry affairs, obtained by POLITICO, the Army helicopter… “took a scenic route around the Pentagon versus proceeding directly from the west to the heliport” on Thursday, prompting controllers to call for two go-arounds.
While go-arounds are a typical maneuver for flights inbound to Reagan National given the congestion at the busy airport, Senn classified the incidents in the email as “loss of separation” events, which are a breach of the minimum separation standards for aircraft in the same airspace.
miley-shocked003:Item 2:
Major delays at Newark Airport roll into sixth day as FAA cites air traffic control staffing issues
Air traffic control staffing issues continued to cause major delays for passengers flying in and out of the busy Newark airport outside of New York City for an unprecedented sixth day in a row.
The FAA has not commented officially on the nature of the staffing problems…
…but the CEO of United, who says he has no choice but to cancel 35 flights into EWR every day (for safety) until this gets sorted, was not so cagey:
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby put out a statement Friday about the delays, saying the airport’s issues seem to be a combination of technology failures and “over 20% of the FAA controllers for EWR (Newark Liberty International Airport) walked off the job.”
miley-shocked003:What was behind that? No one is saying. But maybe the FAA should ask air traffic controllers why they are so unhappy as to walk away from their employment? And maybe inform the stranded/cancelled passengers?
Just spitballing here.
