Helicopter Crash in DC
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Is there a morbid humor if it turns out that it was the fault of the ATC from REAGAN National Airport?
wrote on 30 Jan 2025, 23:58 last edited by@LuFins-Dad said in Helicopter Crash in DC:
Is there a morbid humor if it turns out that it was the fault of the ATC from REAGAN National Airport?
Turns out, one controller was trying to do the job of two. Maybe he did get the job done. The investigation will find out.
Speaking of the investigation, more things are coming out...The helicopter crew was very experienced, with over 1000 hours in the cockpit of a Blackhawk(yes, one was a woman, if that makes any difference, which I doubt). In other news, they found the Bombardier's black box and they're starting the analysis.
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wrote on 31 Jan 2025, 00:05 last edited by
The whole scenario just seems so implausible to me.
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@Doctor-Phibes said in Helicopter Crash in DC:
Maybe give it a rest, guys?
Don't start no shit, unless you want shit started.
One of the very first posts in this thread:
Welcome to Pete Hegseth’s DoD.
wrote on 31 Jan 2025, 00:06 last edited by@Jolly said in Helicopter Crash in DC:
@Doctor-Phibes said in Helicopter Crash in DC:
Maybe give it a rest, guys?
Don't start no shit, unless you want shit started.
One of the very first posts in this thread:
Welcome to Pete Hegseth’s DoD.
I said 'guys', plural. I wasn't taking sides.
Obviously, it was a complete waste of time.
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@Jolly said in Helicopter Crash in DC:
@Doctor-Phibes said in Helicopter Crash in DC:
Maybe give it a rest, guys?
Don't start no shit, unless you want shit started.
One of the very first posts in this thread:
Welcome to Pete Hegseth’s DoD.
I said 'guys', plural. I wasn't taking sides.
Obviously, it was a complete waste of time.
wrote on 31 Jan 2025, 00:50 last edited by@Doctor-Phibes said in Helicopter Crash in DC:
@Jolly said in Helicopter Crash in DC:
@Doctor-Phibes said in Helicopter Crash in DC:
Maybe give it a rest, guys?
Don't start no shit, unless you want shit started.
One of the very first posts in this thread:
Welcome to Pete Hegseth’s DoD.
I said 'guys', plural. I wasn't taking sides.
Obviously, it was a complete waste of time.
Actually, you're right.
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wrote on 31 Jan 2025, 01:45 last edited by
@Mik said in Helicopter Crash in DC:
The whole scenario just seems so implausible to me.
It really is, almost like two (slow) bullets hitting in the air. Fluke. Those helicopters fly along the river and then beltway many times per day, usually about 200-300’ up. Normally planes aren’t that altitude except right before landing of course, just seems like a major helicopter pilot error, likely looking for a CRJ en route to the main runway.
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wrote on 31 Jan 2025, 02:23 last edited by
It's so unlikely it's difficult to imagine a terrorist or crazy person being able to pull it off intentionally. But what do I know. Planes go pretty slow on landing.
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wrote on 31 Jan 2025, 02:23 last edited by
Did either or both aircraft have a traffic information system?
I assume both had it - a system to warn of nearby traffic.
2 pilots in each aircraft should have heard and seen alarms. In order for a collision to occur both pilots at the controls had to ignore the warnings. Or, I guess, they might assume the other guy would fix the problem.
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Did either or both aircraft have a traffic information system?
I assume both had it - a system to warn of nearby traffic.
2 pilots in each aircraft should have heard and seen alarms. In order for a collision to occur both pilots at the controls had to ignore the warnings. Or, I guess, they might assume the other guy would fix the problem.
wrote on 31 Jan 2025, 02:50 last edited by@Copper said in Helicopter Crash in DC:
Did either or both aircraft have a traffic information system?
I assume both had it - a system to warn of nearby traffic.
2 pilots in each aircraft should have heard and seen alarms. In order for a collision to occur both pilots at the controls had to ignore the warnings. Or, I guess, they might assume the other guy would fix the problem.
A few things more tonight ...
The chopper might have been at 400 feet. That's 200 feet too high for where they were at.
The ATC did not give the chopper pilot a direction to look. There were two Bombardier planes within vision of the helicopter cockpit.
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@Doctor-Phibes said in Helicopter Crash in DC:
Maybe give it a rest, guys?
Don't start no shit, unless you want shit started.
One of the very first posts in this thread:
Welcome to Pete Hegseth’s DoD.
wrote on 31 Jan 2025, 02:50 last edited by@Jolly said in Helicopter Crash in DC:
One of the very first posts in this thread was a formulaic joke that’s been made in hundreds of different threads that no one until yesterday ever took very seriously
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wrote on 31 Jan 2025, 02:52 last edited by
I took it seriously from the get-go.
Everybody occasionally does something inappropriate. Last night was your turn
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@Jolly said in Helicopter Crash in DC:
One of the very first posts in this thread was a formulaic joke that’s been made in hundreds of different threads that no one until yesterday ever took very seriously
wrote on 31 Jan 2025, 02:58 last edited by jon-nyc@Jolly said in Helicopter Crash in DC:
One of the very first posts in this thread was a formulaic joke that’s been made in hundreds of different threads that no one ever took very seriously until yesterday and again today
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wrote on 31 Jan 2025, 12:08 last edited by
check the date.
Photo because they’ll probably retcon the link.
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wrote on 31 Jan 2025, 12:41 last edited by jon-nyc
The “targeted disabilities” link is already dead, but here it is on the way back machine:
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wrote on 31 Jan 2025, 12:46 last edited by
It seems to me that this really has the possibility of being a 3-way cluster… The AA Pilot and crew had to have not responded to proximity alarms or there was a sensor/alarm failure on the plane. The ATC needs to still have been more on the ball, even if the AA Pilot called for a visual approach, and the ATC should have given more clear instructions to the Blackhawk, and probably should have cleared them out of the area. The Blackhawk crew obviously looked at the wrong plane and weren’t aware enough of the approach they were on.
There’s things that can be improved on, here, but it’s also true that sometimes shit happens. Tragic, yes, but not something to go on a crusade over. That’s true on both sides.
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It seems to me that this really has the possibility of being a 3-way cluster… The AA Pilot and crew had to have not responded to proximity alarms or there was a sensor/alarm failure on the plane. The ATC needs to still have been more on the ball, even if the AA Pilot called for a visual approach, and the ATC should have given more clear instructions to the Blackhawk, and probably should have cleared them out of the area. The Blackhawk crew obviously looked at the wrong plane and weren’t aware enough of the approach they were on.
There’s things that can be improved on, here, but it’s also true that sometimes shit happens. Tragic, yes, but not something to go on a crusade over. That’s true on both sides.
wrote on 31 Jan 2025, 12:47 last edited by@LuFins-Dad said in Helicopter Crash in DC:
The AA Pilot and crew had to have not responded to proximity alarms or there was a sensor/alarm failure on the plane.
One pilot commented that TCAS is not all that good in a crowded airspace - too many false alarms.
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wrote on 31 Jan 2025, 12:59 last edited by
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wrote on 31 Jan 2025, 13:03 last edited by
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wrote on 31 Jan 2025, 13:04 last edited by
@jon-nyc said in Helicopter Crash in DC:
Maybe it’s time for a DCA DMZ.
More likely, it’s time to expand and improve Dulles and shut down DCA.
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wrote on 31 Jan 2025, 13:13 last edited by
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wrote on 31 Jan 2025, 13:17 last edited by
@LuFins-Dad said in Helicopter Crash in DC:
More and more people on the right are thinking it was intentional by the Black hawk pilot.
FFS.
Also on X. This could be another rando, but what he says makes sense.
I was a Blackhawk helicopter crew chief in the Army.
I was even a Flight Instructor. This means that I trained Crew Chiefs and ensured that they completed all training annually to maintain their flight ratings.
One massive responsibility we had was to be the eyes for the pilots. We handled airspace obstacle avoidance and communicated potential risks to the pilots.
Quite often we would train as a flight of 2 or 3 birds flying in formation.
It was my job to have my head out the window and tell the pilots that the aircraft behind us was "staggered right at 3 discs". (We measured close distances in terms of the diameter of our rotor discs).
I can tell you after doing this for hundreds of hours, even when you know EXACTLY where a Blackhawk is, and you have night vision goggles on, it is EXTREMELY hard to SEE the aircraft.
These birds are designed to be hard to see at night.
The red and green lights on the side get lost in the lights of the city below. The only "lights" on top of the aircraft are called "slime lights" because they are a very very very dim green.
Incredibly difficult to see.
If you are above the helicopter, even if it has it flood light or spot light (2 different lights) on, underneath it, it is still hard to see the bird because all of that illumination is below the airframe.
Another thing people should know is just how busy things can get on the aircraft.
Pilots are talking to each other about what they are observing on the instrument panels. This means neither are looking outside the aircraft.
The crew chief might be conducting a fuel check, where we would also be looking up into the cockpit at the fuel gages and the clock.
This CAN lead to moments where all 3 people on the aircraft are all looking inside the aircraft.
It's not supposed to happen that way. We are supposed to announce when we are "coming inside" or are "back outside" the aircraft. But that doesn't always happen.
Also, in cities like DC, the radio traffic is constant and can make it hard to filter out what is important for you to listen to.
Checking instruments, doing math, reading checklists, and listening to multiple radios all at the same time is HARD. Mistakes happen.
Anyone out there telling you that they find the aircraft collision to be suspect, have NEVER been in a flight crew and they have ZERO idea what they are talking about.
Ignore them all. Better yet, mock the hell out of them.
999 times out of 1000 aircraft incidents always come down to a series of pilot and crew errors.
Humans are involved. They aren't perfect.
Tonight, my heart and mind is with the families of those involved in this tragic event.
I won't join the chorus of idiots making speculations.