Runway Debris Punches Hole in American Eagle CRJ-700 Nose at Reagan National

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A foreign object on the runway at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) struck an American Eagle regional jet during takeoff on the evening of March 9. The DCA runway debris punched a hole through the aircraft’s radome and forced an emergency diversion. No injuries were reported.

The aircraft — a Bombardier CRJ-700 operated by PSA Airlines on behalf of American Eagle — was rolling down Runway 15 at approximately 11:29 p.m. ET. Bound for Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport as Flight AA5561, the crew felt a significant impact during the takeoff roll.

The jet became airborne, but the crew halted its climb at 4,000 feet. Sensing something wrong, the pilots diverted immediately to Washington Dulles International Airport. Dulles offered longer runways and more robust emergency infrastructure than the constrained airfield at Reagan National. The aircraft was on the ground at Dulles just 16 minutes after leaving DCA.

A Hole in the Nose

A post-flight inspection at Dulles revealed the extent of the damage. The Federal Aviation Administration described the finding in a statement: “The aircraft struck an object on takeoff from DCA and diverted to IAD, where a post-flight inspection revealed a hole in the radome.”

The radome is the fiberglass nose cone that houses an aircraft’s weather radar system. Damage to the radome exposes sensitive avionics to the elements. It can also affect aerodynamic performance — which explains why the crew treated the diversion as urgent.

The aircraft, tail number N517AE, is a 22-year-old jet. It entered service with American Eagle Airlines in 2003 and later joined the PSA Airlines fleet in 2017. After the incident, it remained grounded at Dulles for less than 24 hours before being ferried to Wichita, Kansas, home to a Bombardier maintenance facility. Following repairs, the aircraft repositioned to DCA and returned to scheduled service on March 11.

Another FOD Incident at a High-Profile Airport

The incident adds to a growing record of foreign object debris events at one of the nation’s busiest and most operationally constrained airports. It is also part of a broader pattern of debris-related damage that FODNews has tracked across U.S. airports — including a recent engine-failure event at Cincinnati CVG involving an A330 cargo aircraft.

Reagan National has been under intense federal scrutiny since January 2025. That month, a midair collision between a regional passenger jet and a U.S. Army helicopter near the airport killed all 67 people aboard both aircraft. Congressional hearings, staffing reviews, and operational audits followed. A runway debris strike now adds a different dimension to the safety picture at DCA.

Airport authorities conducted a runway inspection of Runway 15 after the incident. However, the nature of the debris — whether it was a piece of hardware, a fragment from another aircraft, or material tracked onto the pavement — had not been publicly identified as of press time.

The Physics of High-Speed Debris Strikes

Foreign object debris incidents are particularly dangerous during the takeoff roll. At that stage, an aircraft is accelerating through speeds where small objects can cause disproportionate damage. The most catastrophic example in aviation history is Air France Flight 4590 in July 2000. A strip of titanium on the runway ruptured a tire on the Concorde during takeoff, ultimately leading to a fuel tank fire and the deaths of 113 people.

Modern airports deploy a range of runway inspection protocols to detect and remove debris before aircraft operations. The FAA’s FOD management guidance calls for regular pavement inspections and the use of detection technology on high-traffic runways. Whether DCA’s inspection protocols will face scrutiny as part of the FAA investigation remains to be seen.

The FAA confirmed it has opened an investigation into the March 9 event. PSA Airlines had not issued a public statement as of publication.

Sources

• Simple Flying — Runway Debris Punches Hole In American Eagle CRJ-700 Radome During DCA Takeoff
• AeroXplorer — Debris Rips Through American Eagle Jet Nose During Takeoff
• Aviation Herald — Incident Report, AA5561, March 9, 2026
• FAA — Foreign Object Debris (FOD) Management

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