Flight experts suspect that Black Hawk Helicopter did not see American Airlines Plane before crash

Several aviation experts believe that the pilot of the US Army Black Hawk Helicopter did not see the US airline Passenger Plane before the two collided on Wednesday 29 January.

The crash demanded the life of 64 people On board the commercial flight and three American soldiers on the helicopter.

“I guarantee that it was basically pilot errors,” says an active army helicopter pilot, who did not want to be identified, tells People.

The pilot, who is not on the team that examines the crash but has investigated other helicopter collisions in the past, explained: “Black Hawk accepted responsibility for the separation of traffic. This means that they would monitor and deal with the airways themselves. Black Hawk asked for” visual separation ” , meaning “we got this.”

“It took (responsibility) from the axis of the air traffic control,” the pilot explained.

The pilot said that when this happens, the control tower leaves it up to the aircraft to decide how to proceed, “knowing you have it.”

“When that happens, the tower is now consumed with what the priorities are – the next alligator closest to the canoe,” he added.

The pilot notes that the tower asked the Black Hawk helicopter if they saw American Airlines Aircraft, a PSA airline Bombardier CRJ700 Regional Jet Nickname “RJ.” Although the pilot points out that Black Hawk, a Sikorsky H-60 ​​helicopter, confirmed that it saw the passenger plane, he adds, “We think they looked at the wrong plan. They did not look at RJ.” (According to sound obtained by Associated Pressan air traffic control unit asked the helicopter If it had the landing plane in sightLater addition after no answer: “Pat 25 passes behind CRJ.”)

Laurie Garrow, professor and head of Air Transportation Lab at Georgia Tech, agrees.

“It seems (Black Hawk Pilot) thought he had a view of the aircraft, but there were several aircraft in the area. And it may be that he had a view of another aircraft. So I don’t think he was aware that he Be on the flight path for this American Eagles flight or maneuvered to avoid another, “she assumed.

Garrow described the airspace above DC as “lane in the sky that you need to stay (i).”

“In DC, these lanes are very narrow because we have many buildings that are close to the airport. So when you take off you have to climb at a certain height or make some very quick turns to avoid the tall buildings and even sensitive areas, she explained . “You can’t fly over the White House, can’t fly over memorials and malls. So it is very common for aircraft to go on Potomac, but it probably also creates more congestion and things to handle, especially if you mix commercial and military operations. ”

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Captain Mike Coffield, who has over 22,000 hours of experience, also explains to people that it is “difficult” to see the airspace clearly at night, especially with light that shines and plans that take off.

By providing technical insight, Coffield adds, “The helicopter does not carry what is called TCAS, which is traffic resolution or conflict because helicopters – and especially military helicopters – fly next to each other all the time. It would go off all the time.”

He says he is “pretty sure” that the two planes did not see each other before the collision, but he says that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will ultimately determine what happened when it does junk and sona analyzes.

“(NTSB) will be able to decide exactly where the helicopter hit the aircraft. They will be able to determine the angle that hits the aircraft just by making the junk field sonar,” says Coffield, CEO of KM Cargo.

He also agrees that Black Hawk “possibly” avoids another aircraft instead of the American Airlines plane. He says that on “any night”, there may be up to 10 or more aircraft in a row near the Potomac River, where the collision occurred, so it is possible that the Black Hawk pilot believed that the air traffic control unit referred to another plane when he asked if they had the aircraft in sight.

“You may not even look there because first and foremost you would not predict it to see all these aircraft come up in the river,” he explains.

“Everyone wants answers right now, and I’m not blaming them,” Army helicopter pilot tells People. “This is a shocking and horrible event. But these things take time. You have to comb through every last detail. There will be a preliminary report of about 30 days and a more detailed report per year or more.”

The pilot expresses condolences for the victims’ families and adds, “I can’t imagine what it must be for these families. It is inconceivable. It shouldn’t have happened. But it really did.”

Further reporting from Susan Katz Keating.