Anyone know why only a transcript of the CVR was released?
Perhaps the chick pilot had something to do with the crash?
The only players in this disaster who were not to be blamed are the two commuter jet pilots who did all that could be expected of them
Anything and everything except the pilot.
Yeah. OK.
Historical revisionism at its finest...
In other news: The oceans are mainly comprised of water and water is wet.
For whatever problems there were in the tower I can’t really look past the flightdeck in the chopper. Fly your machine and never never never treat it like it’s just another day in the office, because, up there, it ain’t.
Nope.
It was simple situational awareness. Pilot had NO idea where she was relative to the bridge ATC referenced by way of letting her know a plane was inbound. Had she KNOWN, she would have SEEN landing lights barreling down from her LEFT side as the bridge was SOUTH of her position.
She was also too far out over the Potomac for the original flight plan, again, a failure to familiarize one’s self with the terrain although admittedly, night flight in and around DCA or BWI can get weird (I’m a low-hour pilot, SEL, Glider, Rotary wing, having given up flying there many years ago).
Nothing to do with why they were over 200 ft.
I have a curious technical question for any experienced chopper pilots with hundreds of hours of flight time in different crafts.
Suppose you were given an order to immediately come to a stop and hover in place would this cause the craft and flight characteristics to naturally bring you up in elevation a bit to execute this maneuver?
You would have to pitch the craft nose up to stop quickly wouldn’t you? Would there be any residual climb because of the drastic pitch required to do this fast stop?
It appears that, as of early 2025, some airline customers are avoiding Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)—especially frequent flyers—but not universally.
🛫 Passenger Traffic Trends at DCA
In 2024, DCA handled 26.29 million passengers, a 3.3% increase over 2023, setting a record for the airport .
However, in early 2025, passenger traffic was reported to be down 8.5% compared to the same period in 2024 .
🚧 Safety Incident & Operational Changes
A fatal mid-air collision on January 29, 2025 involving an American Airlines regional jet and a military Black Hawk helicopter raised major safety concerns surrounding DCA .
In response, the FAA implemented arrival caps (from 28 to 26 per hour), helicopter restrictions, and grounded flights during helicopter presence—leading to a sharp rise in delays (34% vs. 11% year-over-year) and cancellations (7% vs. 0.5%) .
🧍♂️ Traveler Behavior & Sentiment
Some frequent local flyers have switched to driving or using alternative airports like Dulles (IAD), citing discomfort with DCA post-crash .
Yet, others continue to fly DCA without hesitation and expect to return as safety updates are implemented .
From anecdotal reports on Reddit:
> “I’ve flown out of there 10 times since the accident. Totally fine.”
“Every single return flight … involves some level of plane circling, a gate delay, a reroute or a ground stop.”
✈️ Why Some are Choosing Alternatives
Washington Dulles (IAD) is experiencing robust growth: 27.25 million passengers in 2024 (+8.4%) and projected to be the busiest year ever in 2025 with major airline expansions. Meanwhile, DCA traffic is declining .
Dulles is increasingly attractive due to more international routes, lower per‑passenger costs, and less operational disruption .
✅ Summary: Are Customers Avoiding DCA?
Factor Trend at DCA Comparison with Dulles (IAD)
Traffic 26.29M in 2024 (+3.3%), but early 2025 down –8.5% IAD at 27.25M (+8.4%), growing faster
Safety Fatal crash January 29, FAA restrictions in place No comparable incidents or restrictions
Traveler Behavior Some frequent flyers avoiding it; many still use it Increasing preference for Dulles
Delays Higher delays & cancellations since crash Fewer disruptions reported
So yes, a portion of frequent flyers have opted to avoid DCA, mostly due to safety concerns and operational disruptions. But it’s not wholesale avoidance—many people continue using it out of convenience or habit. The impact seems to be regional and gradual, and public confidence may rebound if the airport addresses concerns and restores reliability.
From AI.
Im pretty confident flying in and out of the flight paths if a major airport might have something to do with it. Training?
There’s a fairly significant body of water close by called the Chesapeake Bay that might have been better suited for such training.
Call the fools who thought this was a good idea up to the carpet to answer some tough questions.
Irrelevant as she was not following instructions from the copilot. They are trying to make excuses for her.
What's wrong with this picture? Smells like DEI to me.
As someone who has spent much time in NVGs and who is I pilot I can tell you just walking and running in NVGs is a struggle you run into things all the time while wearing them. Your field of view is very limited like looking down a tunnel. Any light sources bloom and white out whole sections of that limited field of view, you have only shades of green no colors and it’s nausea inducing lack of depth perception too unless you have binocular type and even then it’s two tunnels not.much depth perception to be had.
I couldn’t imagine trying to fly with those on at low level with lights in the background too, I would rather go full instruments and not try to VFR at all with NVGs.