A United Airlines flight from Houston appeared to have struck a kite while landing at Washington Reagan National Airport on Saturday.
The pilots reported the kite flying over Gravelly Point, a park just off the runway along the banks of the Potomac River on the Virginia side, according to Air Traffic Control audio. Flying kites there is prohibited because of its proximity to landing aircraft.
“It was over the park, about 100 feet over the ground, it looks like it’s right on the flight path,” pilots said.
Flight 654, a Boeing 737, landed safely with 126 passengers and five crew on board around 4 p.m. EDT, according to United.
Dylan Oates/WUSA9
“We are aware of reports that a kite struck UA flight 654 from Houston to Regan Airport in Washington D.C.,” United airlines said in a statement to CBS News. “The aircraft landed safely, customers deplaned normally and upon inspection there was no damage to the aircraft.”
Witnesses enjoying a warm day at the park also reported watching the United flight coming in contact with the kite, CBS affiliate WUSA9 reported.
“There was a kite that looked a little higher than it should be, we thought it might just be a perspective thing from where we were standing but, lo and behold, as the plane got a little bit closer, it came into contact with the kite,” a producer at the D.C. news station and former flight attendant, Dylan Oakes, said.
CBS News has reached out for comment from the FAA.
Washington Metropolitan Airport Authority Police responded to the park and confiscated a kite, WUSA9 reported.
“Airports Authority police officers responded to reports of kite-flying at Gravely Point today, an activity which is not allowed in that area due to the danger to low-flying aircraft,” Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said in a statement.
No charges were filed and officers returned the kite to its owner, a spokesperson for Reagan National said in a statement.
The incident comes about 24 hours after a Delta flight received a collision avoidance alert due to the close proximity of a military aircraft and follows a series of concerning close calls that surfaced after a midair collision killed 67 at the D.C. airport in January.
Since the deadly crash between a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines flight, the National Transportation Safety Board made a number of recommendations to address a “serious safety risk” at Reagan National, including banning helicopter operations along the route near the airport when runways 15 and 33 are in use.
