OT: Plane Crash Reagan National Airport

[AirBill]

Anybody know anything about this flight out of Philly? Enormous explosion on ground.

Learjet transporting medical passengers to Springfield MO. Crashed right after takeoff, apparently. Looks bad.

[HelmutVII]

Videos I saw showed it dropped like a rock. 6 people on board as per the FAA

[Cajunrunner]

The question of why PAT25 climbed 200 feet right before the crash will be an interesting one. There are a lot of reasons why it could've happened, but I'd prefer to wait for the NTSB report than speculate. What I will say (and I'm sure you'd agree) is it's really easy to mistake one airplane for another, particularly at night, which makes visual separation in that environment a dicey proposition.

Like I said, I don't blame the current administration for this. Far too early in it to say they had anything to do with it. ATC isn't to blame either (and neither is DEI, for that matter). Yes, the FAA is badly understaffed and underfunded, but since Congress is given the power of the purse in the Constitution, that's who I blame. Then again, this administration started off by wanting to shrink government, so it's not likely this was going to change.

Bottom line, the convenience of DCA is something that both Democrats and Republicans have enjoyed for as long as it's been there. This isn't (or shouldn't be) about politics at all.

I greatly appreciate the input from both you and C4L.

Thank ya'll both.

[cajun4life]

The question of why PAT25 climbed 200 feet right before the crash will be an interesting one. There are a lot of reasons why it could've happened, but I'd prefer to wait for the NTSB report than speculate. What I will say (and I'm sure you'd agree) is it's really easy to mistake one airplane for another, particularly at night, which makes visual separation in that environment a dicey proposition.

Like I said, I don't blame the current administration for this. Far too early in it to say they had anything to do with it. ATC isn't to blame either (and neither is DEI, for that matter). Yes, the FAA is badly understaffed and underfunded, but since Congress is given the power of the purse in the Constitution, that's who I blame. Then again, this administration started off by wanting to shrink government, so it's not likely this was going to change.

Bottom line, the convenience of DCA is something that both Democrats and Republicans have enjoyed for as long as it's been there. This isn't (or shouldn't be) about politics at all.

We are on the same page with this.

NVG annual eval in that airspace with all of the cultural lighting would be a nightmare.

It is easy to lose or gain 150’ of altitude without realizing it. Especially if they were uncoupled, which is general SOP when in terrain flight <200’.

[JMV JustMyView]

I am glad we are hearing from both AirBill and Cajun4Life both true professionals in the aviation arena. This was a bad situation all the way around. Hopefully some new Sop's and such will be formed to make sure something like this never happens again.

[Cajunrunner]

I am glad we are hearing from both AirBill and Cajun4Life both true professionals in the aviation arena. This was a bad situation all the way around. Hopefully some new Sop's and such will be formed to make sure something like this never happens again.

I’m about to try to hire one of them to be my shrink.

[JMV JustMyView]

I’m about to try to hire one of them to be my shrink.

VObserver is my strink. He listens to me well at softball games.

[ZoomZoom]

Learjet transporting medical passengers to Springfield MO. Crashed right after takeoff, apparently. Looks bad.

Pediatric patient.

[AirBill]

Pediatric patient.

Oh man, that is bad news.

This is insane pic.twitter.com/Knb8H7I5Iq

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 1, 2025