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re: Looks like a plane hit a Helicopter at DCA airport
Posted on 1/30/25 at 8:46 am to cajunangelle
Posted on 1/30/25 at 8:46 am to cajunangelle
CA shows on both aircraft so does that mean that both aircraft were also receiving audible collision alerts as well? No fricking way the helicopter pilots didn't know this was about to happen. I know it was likely too late for the plane to avoid it but that helicopter is moving much slower and, though I'm not a pilot and don't know anything about flying an aircraft, I'm sure it could've taken evasive moves at the last minute to avoid it. This whole thing is just so tragic.
1
Posted on 1/30/25 at 8:47 am to OccamsStubble
I get they may not have visually been able to see them but shouldn't the radar and computers made them aware?
Posted on 1/30/25 at 8:48 am to OccamsStubble
quote:
If the helicopter was lower than the plane, and ascending, while the plane was above the helicopter, and descending, there’s a good chance the pilots of the plane could not see the helicopter until the last second.
What about for the mile or two that it was flying straight at it?
Posted on 1/30/25 at 8:49 am to lsu480
Wondering if this will come down to something as simple as them confusing the alerts with the plane taking off that can be seen in the video. I can see the pilots being like "wtf is going on?" when they're looking at the wrong plane thinking they're ok but still getting the warnings and then bam.
Posted on 1/30/25 at 8:50 am to NashvilleTider
Need to reverse this title....helicopter hit a plane....fault was definitely on the helicopter.
Posted on 1/30/25 at 8:51 am to TDsngumbo
quote:
Wondering if this will come down to something as simple as them confusing the alerts with the plane taking off that can be seen in the video.
That’s what everyone is saying but they were told to watch for the plane on approach. I would think any pilot would not confuse that with a plane taking off.
Posted on 1/30/25 at 8:51 am to OysterPoBoy
quote:
What about for the mile or two that it was flying straight at it?
The flight paths might be extremely deceiving. Like he's saying, it could look on paper like the chopper was flying right at it and even on the video too but in reality the difference in altitudes may very well have been the culprit here. I can see a reality where neither pilot saw the other until it was too late.
That doesn't explain why the chopper pilot ignored the ATC warnings though.
Posted on 1/30/25 at 8:53 am to OysterPoBoy
quote:
That’s what everyone is saying
Ah ok, I'm still catching up as I went to bed early last night to catch up on sleep since I'm still exhausted from being on planes myself nonstop for the past few days.
Posted on 1/30/25 at 8:55 am to TDsngumbo
quote:
The flight paths might be extremely deceiving
Possibly but that landing light is bright as hell and they certainly should have been in a position to see it here and for about a minute prior.
Posted on 1/30/25 at 8:56 am to OysterPoBoy
Good point there
Posted on 1/30/25 at 8:57 am to TDsngumbo
The Blackhawk should have been at 200 feet. For some reason, it went up to 300 feet during the last seconds. Both aircraft were under VFR flight rules, which means they were both looking out their windows, not down at the instruments.This is 100% the fault of the helo crew. ATC did everything correctly. The helo crew responded they had the American jet in sight. Once they confirmed that, it was up to them to avoid a conflict. The CRJ would have been extremely easy to locate as it was approaching directly in the opposite direction with its landing lights brightly shining. It isn't until the last 10 seconds that it starts it's final left turn towards RWY33. Maybe they had visual, then lost it in the last few seconds.
This post was edited on 1/30/25 at 9:02 am
Posted on 1/30/25 at 9:03 am to AirbusDawg
quote:
This is 100% the fault of the helo crew. ATC did everything correctly. The helo crew responded they had the American jet in sight. Once they confirmed that, it was up to them to avoid a conflict.
This is my gut feeling too. My guess is the helo pilot had visual of the wrong aircraft and was focused on that. By the time he sees the jet, there wasn't even time to blink.
Posted on 1/30/25 at 9:04 am to OysterPoBoy
quote:even waiting until the CA warning gives you over 10 secs. A BH could climb over 200 feet in that time. It makes no sense to just turn into crj
Possibly but that landing light is bright as hell and they certainly should have been in a position to see it here and for about a minute prior.
Posted on 1/30/25 at 9:09 am to TigerNAtux
quote:
quote:
100% false.
Good. I was hoping that was BS.
Consider the source. Few places in the world are as full of BS as dependa Facebook groups.
"I know this because one of my friends was killed due to pilot error on a deployment and the families of the pilots were exempt from the beneficiary list. My friend's wife told me that because all the families were in a Facebook group."
Posted on 1/30/25 at 9:10 am to UncleFestersLegs
Anyone heard from BHP lately? Random thought.
Posted on 1/30/25 at 9:11 am to the808bass
Was there actually military folk in that helicopter or was it one of those unarmed drones from jersey last month. Seems suspicious for military craft to not know they’re in commercial airline paths
Posted on 1/30/25 at 9:14 am to UncleFestersLegs
quote:
even waiting until the CA warning gives you over 10 secs. A BH could climb over 200 feet in that time. It makes no sense to just turn into crj
Closer to 13 seconds. If the jet pilot gets the warning, but is nose up to land and in a slight turn, then it would be risky to change their attitude due to the warning because they couldn’t see the helicopter - changing their path could mean turning INTO the path of the helicopter. They likely chose to continue because they couldn’t SEE the helicopter, and had to count on the likelihood that the helicopter could see, and avoid, them.
There MAY have been still more confusion if the helicopter was rapidly ascending, which would mean the helicopter attitude was nose down, making it more difficult to look up and left to see the jet that was descending.
There have been cases of crashes where pilots couldn’t see each other, got a warning, and reacted by turning directly into each others path.
This post was edited on 1/30/25 at 9:27 am
Posted on 1/30/25 at 9:17 am to OysterPoBoy
quote:
landing light is bright as hell and they certainly should have been in a position to see it here and for about a minute prior
Can you comment on the impact that the background light "noise" could have had on that? Between all the lights north of DCA on the monuments, other air traffic, and general light pollution, it could have been missed. I know when I watched the footage before 0400 this AM, I couldn't see the lights on the UH-60 because of the background garbage (and I'm old too.)
Posted on 1/30/25 at 9:19 am to OMLandshark
quote:
How much do you want to bet some BlueAnon loon on MSNBC is going to blame Trump for this saying that his DEI firings lead to a shortage of air traffic controllers? I guarantee that’s what our retarded former press secretary is thinking and will say if she’s asked.
Is this the biggest failure of a president and transportation secretary in all of US history?
Yes if a Biden was still in office.
Posted on 1/30/25 at 9:22 am to OccamsStubble
Lots of speculation about weither the copter pilot, plane pilot or traffic control screwed up. Thats necessary.
But another larger view may reveal that activity at the airport has increased beyond capacity, when drones, commercial, and government flights are added up over the last 10 years.
But another larger view may reveal that activity at the airport has increased beyond capacity, when drones, commercial, and government flights are added up over the last 10 years.
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