Tower Problem News Today

Notified by the operation center of the tower problem. >> united 628, just so youre aware, weve had one aircraft go into dca. the tower is apparently unmanned. >> reporter: it landed safely too, and the tower controller was back on the radio about five minutes later. but a former airline pilot calls it a serious lapse. >> of all the airports on the planet, this is the worst one for that to happen to. lets face it, that airport sits within a baseball throw of the pentagon, of the white house, of ...

Around that same time, a united airlines plane with 68 people on board heading in from chicago is notified by the operation center of the tower problem. >> united 628, just so youre aware, weve had one aircraft go into dca. the tower is apparently unmanned. >> reporter: it landed safely too and the tower controller was back on the radio about five minutes later. baa former airline pilot calls it a serious lapse. >> of all the airports on the planet, this is the worst one for that to happen to. l...

Line and theres no answer. >> reporter: a man on board the flight says the pilot keeps passengers informed. >> the pilot gets over the loudspeaker and says, sorry, folks, we cant land right now, i cant get in contact with air traffic control tower, were going to keep circling until i get a response. >> reporter: the plane lands safely a few minutes later, following procedures for unmanned airports, making frequent radio calls to notify planes in the area of its position. around that same time, a...