Posted on 02/19/2025 6:07:10 AM PST by Red Badger
 BREAKING: The NTSB just dropped the Blackhawk helicopter’s black box recordings from the deadly Washington, DC crash with a commercial jet—and it’s a jaw-dropper. Here’s what it tells us:
 Altitude Chaos: The chopper’s altimeter was off—way off. Pilot read 300 feet, instructor saw 400, but the real number? 278 feet—well above the 200-foot ceiling. They were flying blind on bad data.
 Missed Calls: Air traffic control screamed “pass behind the jet”—but the pilots didn’t hear it. The mic was keyed at the worst moment, drowning out the warning. Seconds later? Boom.  Last-Second Panic: The jet’s pilots tried to pull up—nose pitched up just before impact. Too late. The Blackhawk crew? No clue what hit them ‘til it did.
 Night Vision Goggles: They were wearing them, but did they obscure the jet’s lights? Experts say it’s possible they locked onto the wrong target in DC’s crowded skies.
This wasn’t just one mistake—it was a cascade of failures. 67 lives gone. NTSB says a prelim report’s coming soon, but this black box is already screaming: something was seriously broken that night. Share this—people need to know.
Trump is right again! It was DEI. Very sad.
The bad data comment is a misdirection. regardless of 300, 400 or 278 the data clearly showed they were way above the 200-foot ceiling, and they knew it. It does not matter that the data was not exactly 278, in fact what they thought it was makes their error more egregious and makes them more accountable.
Once they determined this MAJOR discrepancy they should have immediately stopped, descended and got out of traffic.
If this was a training mission for night goggle flight, why would both be wearing them? It seems to me, the trainer would not be using them so he could see and prevent mistakes or problems that he wouldn’t with restricted vision?
AVIATION PING!....................
Civilians should never be unwitting NPCs in military training exercises.
Yes - why didn’t they immediately attempt to lower altitude above the ceiling?
DEI not so much at pilot level, but at the organization level. This whole thing, I am 100% sure, was complefely short circuited by shmootzing with the right people mentioning this problem getting ignored in favor of organizing a birthday cake for a trans manager of air traffic control.
it stinks of party line blame
So the evidence all redirects to “pilot error”.
Unpreparedness or outright malice? Plenty of room for interpretation either way.
“—it was a cascade of failures.”
Most “accidents” are exactly that. When you get to 3 failures you can almost guaranteed an accident will occur.
The pilots were not very experienced for the complicated airspace, not the instructor nor especially the woman trainee. Also, they were short a crew chief, so whoever approved the mission screwed up as well.
What the heck were these pilots doing using barometric altimeters instead of the radar altimeter for primary altitude reference for low level night flight through complex, busy airspace over densely populated areas?.
I beleive civilian are Am modes for channels.and mike systems so that stepping on, you still can hear someone else talking
Not so in the military where it is mostly FM , favoring uniplex clarity over multiplexity.
The civilian is team oriented, the military, especially more so the Army than Air Force, is OPINIONATED.
it is indeed murder qnd violation of Posse commitatus by the federal government to have the military impose its modes on the civilian way of doing things
Why were they flying anywhere near one of the busiest airports in the world, at night, using only night vision goggles?.............
The BlackHawk should have been Deadlined if its two altimeters were not in synch. There were apparently 100s of feet difference in altitude between L seat and R seat altimeters. For a low level mission that’s a definite Deadline, a big X on the PMCS pre-mission checks. So who Circle-Xd it (signs off on the deficiency and allows mission to proceed)?
Sounds like pilot and other error. As expected.
How about conducting flight trainings not in the landing paths of commercial flights.
Now there’s a good idea!....................
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