Plane collides with Blackhawk helicopter Washington DC

[Zaphod58]

I'm not claiming to know exactly what happened here. However, if you watch the videos of the collision, people clearly weren't paying attention. I don't believe this was a suicide. It was simply people not paying attention -- and 67 people died due to that.

They were paying attention, they misidentified the aircraft, and either didn't have the altimeter set correctly, or didn't realize they were too high due to being on goggles.

[Zaphod58]

And once again new rules are written by the FAA in blood. The FAA has restricted helicopter flights in the DCA area. They will allow medevac flights, police emergency flights, and Marine One to transit the area, but when they're in the area all commercial flights close to DCA will have to go into a hold until the helicopters are clear.

[yuppa]

The tower has nothing to do with their altitude, that's controlled by the pilots. The PRIMARY RADAR data appeared to show them at 200 feet, but radar isn't super accurate depending on range and radar system in use.

Ahhh. Something I think they should change when they are in US airspace they should also use regular radio channels.

[Zaphod58]

Ahhh. Something I think they should change when they are in US airspace they should also use regular radio channels.

They were using regular radio channels, but both aircraft were on different frequencies. They also use transponder data in the tower.

[Encia22]

** A reminder **

Mod note – Encia22

I started a new topic to accommodate the politically charged posts appearing in this thread.

All identified posts from here have been moved there to continue the discussion in its proper location.

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:beer:

[Zaphod58]

The NTSB believes, based on what they've heard on the CSMU tape, that the crew was wearing NVGs at the time of the impact. They also aren't sure that ADS-B was installed on the helicopter. They're working to verify whether it was or not. Wreckage of the helicopter was removed from the river.

The FAA has announced a slightly slower arrival rate at DCA going forward.  Currently they're running 28 arrivals, which is max for a single runway. They're slowing that to 26, which will reduce pressure on the tower controllers. 

All 67 bodies have been positively identified. The recovery has shifted to removing wreckage to a secure hangar where they'll lay it out and examine it.

[Zaphod58]

[Mantiss2021]

The NTSB believes, based on what they've heard on the CSMU tape, that the crew was wearing NVGs at the time of the impact. They also aren't sure that ADS-B was installed on the helicopter. They're working to verify whether it was or not. Wreckage of the helicopter was removed from the river.

The FAA has announced a slightly slower arrival rate at DCA going forward.  Currently they're running 28 arrivals, which is max for a single runway. They're slowing that to 26, which will reduce pressure on the tower controllers. 

All 67 bodies have been positively identified. The recovery has shifted to removing wreckage to a secure hangar where they'll lay it out and examine it.

ABC News just reported that the Blackhawk was equipped with ADS-B, but that it was not turned on for this training flight. They noted that, when transporting VIP's, the ADS-B is often turned off to prevent tracking of the aircraft via GPS.

[Zaphod58]

ABC News just reported that the Blackhawk was equipped with ADS-B, but that it was not turned on for this training flight. They noted that, when transporting VIP's, the ADS-B is often turned off to prevent tracking of the aircraft via GPS.

That's what the media is reporting, but the NTSB is saying it may not have been installed at all. Not all military aircraft have ADS-B installed yet. They're getting it installed as they go in for depot level maintenance. The NTSB will determine if it's installed or not. Don't trust the media to get facts right when it comes to aviation.

[Zaphod58]

The NTSB offloaded a barge with UH-60 and CRJ wreckage to a secure hangar at DCA. They documented the right wing of the CRJ, including exterior lights. Investigators spent time examining an example UH-60 to examine switch positions and other settings between it and the accident aircraft. Weather permitting NOAA will fly a LiDAR flight over the river early Saturday morning to try to identify more wreckage in the river.