Montgomery County Councilmember Dawn Luedtke is calling for increased Federal Aviation Administration scrutiny of the Washington International Flight Academy (WIFA) following what she describes as a pattern of safety concerns at the Montgomery County Airpark in Gaithersburg.
In a September 9 letter to the FAA’s Baltimore Flight Standards District Office, Luedtke requested that the agency conduct a closer review of WIFA’s operations and issue a comprehensive finding of facts. Her letter cites incidents dating back several years, including an April 2024 incident in which part of a WIFA aircraft fell onto the Montgomery County Public Safety Training Academy. The letter states that FAA inspectors subsequently examined WIFA aircraft and found several in disrepair and unsuitable for flight. County records also show that Luedtke and the Airpark Community Advisory Committee have previously sought additional safety information from the FAA.
Luedtke also cited several more recent incidents involving WIFA aircraft, including an emergency landing at the Airpark on September 7, two aircraft that she said experienced damage in Pennsylvania after departing the Airpark in August, and a fatal June 20 crash in Bowie involving a pilot who had recently been certified by WIFA and was flying a WIFA aircraft.
According to the letter, the Montgomery County Revenue Authority, which operates the Airpark, has repeatedly raised concerns with federal aviation officials about WIFA. Luedtke said those concerns have included aircraft maintenance issues, runway incidents and other alleged operational safety problems.
Because the FAA has authority over aviation safety and operator certification, Luedtke is asking the agency to examine what she described as a pattern involving aircraft maintenance and operational safety and to make its findings available to the public.
“There have been far too many safety problems at the Montgomery County Airpark,” Luedtke said in announcing the letter. “We need FAA intervention.”
There have been far too many safety problems at the Montgomery County Airpark. We need FAA intervention.
I’ve formally requested the FAA take a closer look at the operations of the Washington International Flight Academy – and share what they find with the public. pic.twitter.com/CZRbLf4U8W
— Councilmember Dawn Luedtke (@dawn_luedtke) September 9, 2026
