WASHINGTON (AP)- The Federal Aviation Administration says it is suspending a procedure at all U.S. airports that led to a near-collision of three jets last week near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
The FAA says an ongoing investigation shows the mishap was caused by a miscommunication between air traffic controllers over reversing the flow of traffic to and from the runway. The traffic flow was being reversed due to bad weather.
The FAA says it will suspend all opposite-direction operations while it develops new procedures. There is no national, standard procedure for reversing traffic flow.
The FAA made the change after the July 31 incident at Reagan National Airport involving three U.S. Airways commuter flights that got too close to one another. The National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating.
