Tower at Reagan National went silent as ;anes tried to land

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Breaking News Alert: Tower at Reagan National went silent as planes tried to land

March 23, 2011 6:19:20 PM
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The control tower at Reagan National Airport went silent early Wednesday, forcing two airliners carrying a total of 165 passengers and crew to land on their own.

The tower did not respond to pilot requests for landing assistance or to phone calls from controllers elsewhere in the region, who also used a “shout line” which pipes into a loudspeaker in the tower, internal records show.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident, agency spokeswoman Laura J. Brown said in a statement.
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