“Aircraft incident” prompts ground stop at Reagan National Airport

An incident involving a small aircraft near Washington, D.C.’s Ronald Reagan National Airport forced air traffic to grind to halt on Wednesday evening.

What To Know

The Federal Aviation Administration’s Air Traffic Command System Control Center issued a “ground stop” for Reagan National Airport on Wednesday night due to an “emergency.”

“All takeoffs and landings have been halted at DCA. Emergency personnel are responding to an aircraft incident on the airfield,” the Reagan Airport account wrote in a post to X, formerly Twitter, at 9:12 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday. “The terminal remains open. Will update.”

At around the same time, the D.C. Fire and EMS Department shared the following on X: “Confirmed small aircraft down in Potomac River vicinity Reagan National Airport. Fireboats on scene.”

This is a developing story and will be updated with additional information.