Federal aviation safety officials have launched an investigation into a high-speed runway incident at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) that left an American Eagle regional jet with a gaping hole in its nose. The aircraft, a Bombardier CRJ-700 operated by PSA Airlines, was forced to execute an emergency diversion on the evening of March 9 after striking unidentified foreign object debris (FOD) during its takeoff roll.
The flight, operating as American Airlines Flight 5561, was bound for Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM) with a full load of passengers when the crew reported a significant impact while accelerating down Runway 15. Despite the jolt, the aircraft became airborne, but the flight crew immediately halted the climb at 4,000 feet after sensing an aerodynamic or structural anomaly.
Sixteen Minutes of High-Stakes Flying
Realizing the severity of the potential damage, the pilots declared an emergency and requested an immediate diversion to Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), which offers longer runways and more expansive emergency facilities than the constrained airfield at Reagan National.
According to flight tracking data, the jet spent a total of only 16 minutes in the air. Upon touchdown at Dulles, ground crews were met with a startling sight: a substantial puncture in the aircraft’s radome, the fiberglass “nose cone” that protects vital weather radar equipment…