Posted on 01/31/2025 9:02:45 AM PST by MinorityRepublican
The low-altitude helicopter corridor that was in use at the time of this week’s fatal mid-air collision has indefinitely been shut down by the Federal Aviation Administration, an agency official tells CNN.
The move is the most significant action taken by the FAA since an American Airlines regional jet and an Army Blackhawk helicopter collided midair on Wednesday night before plunging into the frigid Potomac River in clear weather. Sixty seven people were killed.
The US Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was using what’s known as helicopter Route 4, a specialized corridor utilized by law enforcement, medevac, military, and government helicopters to fly east of Reagan National Airport. FAA charts show helicopters in the corridor must be at or below 200 feet above sea level.
The route that has been closed is north of the Wilson Bridge, which connects D.C. and Virginia, the FAA said.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
horse gone....barn door closing
My thoughts, exactly.
Better than NOT STOPPING!
yeah i agree. It’s the right thing to do.
Why there were “training” flights in the low altitude landing zone of the airport is beyond me.
3 person crew and no one saw the plane. Could the pilot have done it intentionally? Not error.
Why has pilot not been named? Was the person suicidal?
Not DEI hire. Not trans.
How did 3 military not see it?
they were asking for trouble not to mention the two air craft were on separate frequencies and not hearing the full conversation. Looks like there were multiple balls dropped here across the board, we will see
There are dozens of sites nearby to relocate that pad if it is really necessary.
I’ve read it was normally a four man crew - pilot, copilot, and two flight officers. The flight officers were stationed left and right sides and provided eyes on both sides of the helo. But this flight had only one FO, not two. Plus, SOP is to use night vision goggles which restrict your peripheral vision to a 40 degree cone and (according to Blancolirio) really degrade your depth perception. Wearing NVGs in a high-traffic commercial airport zone sounds really bad.
The idea that helicopters are intruding into the flight paths of jets at a major airport is crazy - I’m sure I’m missing a lot of context here, but it sounds like this has been a dangerous accommodation for the military and for DC bigwigs who want to be able to use helicopters to get around the DC area.
A day late and 67 lives short.
Good...
Now, dig into the failure in the chain of command and start firing generals
Prob part of the plan to evacuate VIPs in a Continuity of Govt plan
25,453,581 = annual passenger traffic in 2023.
Up to around 2000, it was capped at around 15,000,000.
Limiting flights and banning helicopters is probably what FAA needs to do regarding DCA.
My BIL who worked in DC 20 years ago said the intent was to shut Reagan down once Dulles was completed but the problem was Reagan was closer for congress critters. We fly Omaha to Reagan regularly to see our son in Arlington (5 minutes) from Reagan and regularly see the Nebraska/Iowa congressional staff on these flights.
Guessing they all had to use Dulles when they shut down Reagan after 9/11 but you think they’d move military traffic out of a busy air space like Reagan.
I think that the FAA is wrong.
We need the helicopters, their crews, and the ATC, all in a well-maintained operational state.
The problems of:
- failing to maintain ATC,
- ATC failing to properly communicate,
- military failing to properly communicate,
- failing to include an observer on board the helicopter WHILE the flight crew is training anywhere near an airport,
all need to be addressed AND fixed. Especially for all operations in and around the general area that is the subject of much interest.
Why would SOP be to wear NVG is an area full of lights? Aren’t those usually worn in dark environments? Why would you restrict your peripheral vision purposefully in that zone?
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