BREAKING: Military Helicopter Collides With Regional Jet in D.C. [UPDATED]

[yuna628 9,727]

Apparently there was only one ATC monitoring both airplane and helicopter traffic instead of two. Another helicopter near-miss had happened the night prior. That time the plane's TCAS system warned the pilot in time to pull to safety so it would seem that again the helicopter was not flying in the zone and at the altitude it's supposed to be restricted to.

 

Supposedly PAT25 was also flying at the wrong altitude and not on the right course. So what's going on with that? There is some criticism that the ATC was not more specific when they asked PAT25 to confirm that they had visual on the plane. It may have helped yes, but I think by that time it was too late. Clearly the helicopter was not paying attention. I feel so terrible about the whole thing.. the poor pilot had no idea what was coming at him.

[Ban Hammer 13,590]

time to make qualificatons count instead of block checking

 

[Dashinka 24,831]

2 hours ago, mam521 said:

Agree.  I grew up with a military training base in my back yard.  Incidents happened, but nothing quite this spectacular, for lack of a better word.  I wish my granddad were alive.  He had a history with choppers in the RCAF, eventually ending up as commander of the 422 Tactical Helicopter Squadron and would likely have some interesting insights about this whole scenario.  

 

The flight data recorders from the AA aircraft have been recovered and apparently there is high confidence the recorder from the helicopter will also be recovered. 

 

Wonder how long until an Aircraft Investigation episode appears with the deep dive into this incident.  

I would expect an episode of Air Disasters/Mayday in 2-3 years.  I always love the Gimli Glider episode.

[Dashinka 24,831]

48 minutes ago, Ban Hammer said:

time to make qualificatons count instead of block checking

 

I know when I am going in for a medical procedure, I always place diversity ahead of any other quality or skill.

 

Seriously, how is it that Democrats, yes, Democrats/leftist are the ones pushing DEI, get away with a blatantly racist program?  I guess they are just rehashing their past history.

[Boiler 46,179]

According to the MSM I have read and watched DEI does not apply to aviation.

[Pooky 3,838]

On 1/31/2025 at 1:30 PM, Boiler said:

According to the MSM I have read and watched DEI does not apply to aviation.

Except the thousand or so potential ATC personnel suing for discrimination on the grounds that were rejected for employment for being white. ☠️

[Nature Boy 2.0 8,385]

On 1/30/2025 at 12:45 PM, yuna628 said:

Seems clear that the Blackhawk was at fault and when they confirmed with the ATC they had visual, they had actually sighted the wrong plane. That airplane didn't even have a chance...

 

It did not come from that base. It came from Fort Belvoir.

 

That seems to be the best explanation 

[Pooky 3,838]

5 minutes ago, Nature Boy 2.0 said:

That seems to be the best explanation 

Wrong CRJ and wrong altitude. Too high for their route, but still too low for the AA CRJ’s TCAS to pick them up.

Added to that is that I heard their flight path put them in the CRJ’s blind spot, as it was already established in a stable landing configuration.

[Nature Boy 2.0 8,385]

This guy breaks it down well

 

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/152HmsBskj/

[Boiler 46,179]

Ward explains it well

 

 

[TBoneTX 46,195]

Fascinating article.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

America's Air-Traffic Control System:  An International Disgrace

We still don't know how many mistakes led to the collision of a helicopter with an American Airlines passenger jet making its descent at Reagan National Airport last week.  But one thing has been clear for decades: America's air-traffic control system, once the world's most advanced, has become an international disgrace.

Long before the Obama and Biden administrations' quest to diversify staff in control towers, the system was already one of the worst in the developed world.  The recent rash of near-collisions is the result of chronic mismanagement that has left the system with too few controllers using absurdly antiquated technology.

The problems were obvious 20 years ago, when I visited control towers in both Canada and the United States.  The Canadians sat in front of sleek computer screens that instantly handled tasks like transferring the oversight of a plane from one controller to another.  The Americans were still using pieces of paper called flight strips.  After a plane took off, the controller in charge of the local airspace had to carry that plane's flight strip over to the desk of the controller overseeing the regional airspace.  [...]

 

https://www.city-journal.org/article/reagan-national-airport-crash-faa-air-traffic-control?skip=1