OT: Plane Crash Reagan National Airport

[cajun4life]

"It’s become super in-vogue and “cool” to just blame the helicopter pilots, and then sprinkle some blame on the controller.

But the ridiculous, absurd hodge-podge of procedural waivers and TERPS variances that are required to support an operational volume for which this field was never intended is completely overlooked. We’re trying to run 1,000 operations a day into an airport built before jets. Before Pearl Harbor. It’s almost as if nothing could go wrong having an airliner initiate a 40° turn starting at 500’ AGL, with a descent rate of 760FPM, finishing the turn at 200’ AGL less than 1,000 feet from the runway. Through a helicopter corridor. At night. On a last-minute diversion that previous aircraft declined."

Is this correct? If so, how hasn't an accident like this happened before? Crazy.

It hasn’t happened before because the FW/RW pilots and ATC do an excellent job on a daily basis.

That evening just wasn’t one of them. Critical mistakes in critical phases of flight are catastrophic.

[Bandwagon King]

You are 100% correct. PAT25 is to blame, and I’m a former Blackhawk driver.

https://youtu.be/hfgllf1L9_4

As far as blaming this administration, that a stretch. Blaming the last 4 administrations and how they have shown a complete disregard for the importance of fully funding all aspects of aviation operations is much more accurate.

My opinion on DCA, it should’ve been closed to commercial traffic in 2011 for many reasons.

ATC is vastly overworked and understaffed. But they are not to blame on this one.

It sounds like you have a pretty vast flight time with that helo. Can you tell us why they would be using night vision in such a confined busy airspace. That seems to me to be the number one contributing factor. Also, from what I've seen of the crash, it appears that the helo was at, or around the 200' altitude requirement & began to come up to the jet's level as it was coming in to land, then leveled off almost as if it was trying to play chicken with a civilian aircraft. I hate to say it, but from what I've seen & heard up to this point, it could be a murder suicide, or a dangerous game gone wrong.

How would using night vision as opposed to IFR & not being more, or less handicapped have changed this from a tragedy to an almost routine(?) near miss? Thanks