Shortly before Fatal Crash, Jetpilot was asked to change runways

Shortly before an American Airlines Regional Jet and an Army Helicopter collided near Reagan National Airport on Wednesday night, the plane’s pilots were asked to turn his landing route from one runway to another, according to one person informed of the event and conversation overheard on audio recordings of conversations that emerged between an air traffic controller and the pilots.

The American Airlines Flight 5342, which was on its way to Washington from Wichita, could. Had originally been cleared by the National Airport Traffic Tower to land on the airport’s main track, called Runway 1, the person informed about the events and audio recordings revealed. But in the last moments of the flight, this person and these recordings also showed, the jet pilot was asked by air traffic control to make a circle that landed on a separate, crossing runway, runway 33.

This decision, according to the person who was informed about the event and two other people who are familiar with airport air traffic, is routinely done when regional jets such as American Airlines aircraft are involved and may have been done to help keep air traffic in motion effectively by not clogging the most important runway. Nevertheless, it raised questions within the federal aviation management on Thursday morning about overloading at the national airport, one of the country’s busiest, the person added about the event.

It also raises questions about the safety of using crossing runways, the person said informed of the event, which FAA has tried to eliminate or close in recent years in places like Chicago and Dallas due to concern about overloading on earth.

Spokespersons for few and American Airlines did not respond to requests for comment.