OK boys and girls...DCA is a controlled airport as long as it is a controlled airport...and when does it become uncontrolled? The moment ATC fails to operate. ATC failed to operate at the TOWER level, wise heads took over and landed using uncontrolled airport operations.
When aTC started to operate again, it again was controlled.
Sadly, ATC in the public eyes means one thing, but in reality we all know that the only priority ATC has is to seperate instrument traffic. Everything else is a lower level of priority.
no one would be taking off from DCA with the tower closed unless they received a Radar Release...indeed no one would be taking off because of the noise curfew.
Approach control properly seperated IFR traffic inbound to the airport. It was quite reasonable to land using uncontrolled airport ops. No one else was flying into the airport without IFR seperation.
sheesh.