Washington National Airport
The capital's airport, where air traffic controllers tracked unidentified radar targets over Washington in July 1952.
- Location
- Arlington, Virginia, on the Potomac
- Modern country
- United States
- Opened
- 1941
- Current name
- Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (since 1998)
- Known for (here)
- Radar targets of July 1952
What is Washington National Airport known for?
Washington National Airport opened in 1941 on the Virginia bank of the Potomac River, just across from Washington, D.C. Since 1998 it has been named Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
In July 1952 radar operators at National Airport's air route traffic control centre, and at nearby Andrews Air Force Base, picked up unidentified targets moving over the capital, including in restricted airspace over the White House and Capitol. The most publicized episodes came on the weekends of 19–20 July and 26–27 July. Jet interceptors were sent up but found little.
The Air Force told a large press conference that the targets were likely caused by temperature inversions bending radar beams and producing false echoes. The sightings helped prompt the CIA to convene the Robertson Panel in January 1953.
Radar operators at Washington National Airport tracked the 1952 Washington, D.C. UFO targets.
Mentioned on these pages
- Rabbit holeThe 1952 Washington, D.C. UFO Sightings
- PlaceAndrews Air Force Base
Sources
- Gerald K. Haines, 'CIA's Role in the Study of UFOs, 1947–90', Studies in Intelligence (1997)Primary text
- Wikipedia, 'Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport'Reference
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