Three aircraft narrowly avoided a midair collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
The US Federal Aviation Administration said bad weather and a switch of the landing runway led to a miscommunication on Tuesday afternoon.
The incident was first reported by the Washington Post, which said all three aircraft were operated by US Airways.
US air safety regulators pledged “appropriate action to address the miscommunication”. FAA administrator Michael Huerta acknowledged the aircraft had been too close, but said they were not on a collision course.