A flight arriving at Washington’s Reagan National Airport sparked a major security response on Tuesday after authorities received a bomb threat, forcing a full ground stop and the evacuation of a United Airlines aircraft.
Bomb Threat Prompts Ground Stop At DCA – United Plane Moved Away From Terminal
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), all flights at Reagan National were briefly halted after authorities received a security report about an aircraft. “The FAA is aware of a reported security issue on an aircraft at Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). Passengers have been removed, and the aircraft is away from the terminal while authorities investigate,” the agency said in a statement.
United had no comment, instead referring questions to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The disrupted aircraft was a United flight (UA512) arriving from Houston (IAH). Air traffic control audio referenced an “unconfirmed bomb report” tied to that plane, which was repositioned to a remote area of the airfield. Nearby, emergency-response crews surrounded the aircraft while ground service bused passengers back to the terminal.
Ground Stop Lifted
The ground stop began around 11:18 AM ET and was lifted just before 12:50 PM, as runways reopened and operations resumed. According to flight-tracking data, over 190 flights experienced delays or diversions in connection with the incident.
At an airport already operating under tight air-space restrictions, just five miles from the White House and the U.S. Capitol, the threat triggered immediate action and understandably raised fears.
CONCLUSION
If there’s any place where a credible threat will bring the system to a screeching halt, it’s Washington National, one of the most security-sensitive airports in the world. I don’t fault the FAA or the airport for their swift response; the cost of caution is a few dozen delays, but the cost of ignoring a real threat could be deadly. That said, it’s amazing how easy it is to shut down an airport…
image: @carterbanks / X
Interesting they have stairs and busses out there. Doesn’t seem to be any immediate hurry to evacuate the plane.
Were you subpoenaed over 1990?
What is there to subpoena? This is already out in the open.
What are you talking about?
Glad they take these things seriously. And, 11:18 AM ET to 12:50 PM isn’t bad.
Not Crenshaw’s ” service ” dog again!