Close Call

The Federal Aviation Administration has banned a procedure that nearly caused a mid-air collision over Northern Virginia last week. It bars all airports from letting planes land and take off in opposite directions. The procedure has been necessary when changing weather requires a reversal in approach patterns. The ban is temporary until FAA officials can work out a standard, national procedure for all airports to use. In the Reagan National Airport incident, not all of the controllers and pilots involved knew what was going on.