Tampa, Florida - A Delta Airlines flight trying to land late Saturday night in Tampa was forced to circle above the airport after the pilot was unable to get clearance to land from anyone in the control tower.

Flight 1129, a twin engine MD-90 carrying passengers from Minneapolis, was on its final approach when the pilot called in asking permission to land on Runway 1L. The call went unanswered as the pilot continued calling over the radio seven more times without a response.

It wasn't until 3 minutes 26 seconds later when the tower controller could finally be heard responding.

Looking into the incident, the FAA released a statement Monday saying the airport quickly re-established communications with the flight. The statement went on to say Delta 1129 was in constant communication with Tampa radar controllers.

The flight was forced to perform a "go around" before landing safely on its second attempt. Still no word on exactly what caused the communication problem, but the FAA stays controller headsets have been replaced as a precaution.

 

Beau Zimmer, 10 News