Posted on 01/30/2025 11:20:14 AM PST by Red Badger
In order to enable safe flight, airspace is split into categories ranging from very tightly controlled areas around airports to other zones – mostly rural – where rules are much more relaxed.
The most stringently controlled zones are Class A airspace, such as the area around the Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington.
Pilots must obtain clearance from Air Traffic Control (ATC) to enter and, except in an emergency situation, must follow ATC instructions – such as on heading, height or clearance to land – to the letter.
If reconstructions of the situation in Washington on Wednesday night and ATC instructions are correct, a passenger aircraft seems to have been given clearance to line up and land on runway 33 (the runway is laid out on heading 330 degrees, with the opposite direction being 150 degrees.)
Donald Trump took to his Truth Social network overnight and wrote: “The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport.
“The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time. It is a clear night, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn.”
In ordinary flight outside controlled airspace, when two aircraft are approaching each other the aircraft on the right-hand side has right of way.
This is why one wing has a red light and the other green – approaching aircraft have a visual cue to take avoiding action or not, depending on which colour of light they see.
Once given clearance to land by ATC, however, an aircraft does not have to alter course even if, as seems to be the case in this incident, another aircraft (the military Black Hawk helicopter) is closing in on its right-hand side.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
I understand that Reagan National has no scheduled landings after 1030 pm due to noise restrictions. Why not do the night military training when the airport is closed?
Pilots have the ultimate responsibility for safety of flight. Period. Full stop.
That's why they put the cockpit in the front of the aircraft. That assures that the pilots are the first to arrive at the scene of the crash. Keeps 'em on their toes.
On the othrr hand, there's never yet been an air traffic controller killed in a crash of his own making.
“The most stringently controlled zones are Class A airspace, such as the area around the Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington.
This is why you can’t believe anything writen in a newspaper these days. Class A goes from 18,000 ft through FL600.”
Thanks for clarifying that. I have a pilot’s license but it’s been a few years since I’ve flown and Class A was always “way higher than my Cessna will ever go”.
Class B, I thought, was the most controlled. You need clearance from ATC to get into that space.
I heard that the TCAS system automatically shuts down below 1,000 feet. Some guy on Fox News this morning said that
I thought modern day aircraft had early warning crash protection devices in them. Silly me.
Thanks for that link. This is so horrible.
Military A/C don’t have a lot of nice things in them that commercial ones do.
But even those have limitations..................
You're ASS-U-Me-ing they were under NODs, a fact not presently in evidence.
You don't fly into a brightly-lit aerodrome wearing NODs. And you don't fly around with your anti-collision lights on under NODs for the same reason (and the 'copters ac lights were visible in the video). It's not about stealth, it's about impeding the operation of the NODs.
FWIW, FOV in NODs (except the 4-tube gizmos the Snake eaters use) typically is about 45°, whereas normal human FOV is about 180°x120°. And best-case visual acuity when wearing them is about 20-30.
remember Nidal Hasan? maybe the pilot's name is in some way similar to his
The other thing I picked up on is the frequency of these military helicopter flights in and out of Washington DC? Apparently the military is running personalized air taxi service to key government officials, taking them to or home from their offices. This also needs to be explained. What were they doing cutting thru an ILS approach glideslope localizer inside of the inner marker beacon? What was the purpose of their mission, and previous missions?
Were they running a VIP air taxi service?
But by design, the TCAS system does not generate any warnings once an aircraft is below 1000'.
People suspect its DEI and incompetence in the airlines - it could just as much be DEI and incompetence in the military.
***********?
Excellent point.
Inquiring minds want to know also...
10-4
Actually there are 5 different kinds.
I also noticed no wake turbulence warning to the Blackhawk cutting into a hefty wake turbulence path of flight from ATC or Tower. That is very standard stuff in low and slow flight arrivals, calling out traffic hazards.
Is it possible there was an altimeter error on the chopper? And should ATC advise a chopper pilot who is too high?
We also are waiting for the names of the copter pilots.
There is a chance that we know the family, but praying that we don’t.
Blue Screen of Death....................................Recalculating...............................Recalculating...............
There was another A/C taking off in their direction and maybe that was what the H/C pilot was trying to avoid.................
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