Here's the link to the flight data (FlySto is FREE): bit.ly/42wNrDn If you're new to the channel or missed last week's video, you can check out that tragedy here: th-cam.com/video/DdtsQZ8eZos/w-d-xo.html Yes, there is a typo and misspeak in the video: It is ASDE-X (Airport Surface Detection Equipment).
Love the channel, you always do a great job explaining things. Question: Is it possible that the Apache pilot mistook the CRJ in front of 5342 as the plane to go behind or is it more likely they lost track of 5342?
The only way to avoid this, is to make TCAS give different resolutions at low altitudes such as turn Left/Right instead of Climb/Descend, which is a dangerous command at this low altitude.
Hey Hoover, what are your thoughts on that pilots and controllers talking so fast and in code that clear and concise communication gets lost in translation all too often???
I heard their “experts” say today that runway 33 is rarely ever used. They literally broadcast it everyday on the ATIS “Arrivals expect MTV 01 landing runways 1 and 33.”
@@Backtobackchamps I think it’s not only possible but likely. I’ve never flown under goggles though so that’s out of my expertise. However, i find it easier to locate aircraft at night than in the day. Again assuming not under goggles.
@@FrigginCatsBruh NTSB? Enjoy it while you can. He posts quite soon after incidents sometimes, but he always makes it clear where things are uncertain or speculative. Unlike some people.
I don't think military helicopters have transponders so TCAS. Aren't Blackhawks made by Bell not Sikorski. They're pulling a lot of bodies out right now.
Once again, a guy next to his kitchen at home on his computer, reports the news 110% more accurate and professional than mainstream media. Thank you for the detailed explanation.
This is an aircraft enthusiast channel, mainstream news will not go into this much detail, it is not their job. You are a man in his kitchen on a computer and you cannot do any of this.
Yes, a licensed pilot running a flying-enthusiast channel will have more accurate and detailed reporting than news agencies trying to report general information for the general public. The vast majority of people watching the news aren't interested in a 20+ minute explanation of every detail. Those who are can find channels like this.
Pilot Debrief did a debrief on this already?! I watch you daily….this is way more trustworthy than what I’ve seen on the news. Still waiting for 74 Gear and Mentour….thank you ❤️
@@SoyAntonioGaming And also will not know that your ally Israel bombed the hell out of USS Liberty and that they are not allowed to talk about what they saw until today. You’ll also not know many things and know many wrong things.
Per Juan Brown the Blackhawk was supposed to stay at 200 feet or below on his flight path, this was a published route with altitude restrictions for the helicopter. At the point of impact the helicopter was over 300 feet possibly 400. You guys are two of the best!!
The last MLAT from a playback of PAT25 on ADSB exchange shows them at 200' but I have seen a screenshot showing them at 350'. Not sure where it came from. The chart for the helo routes indicate max AGL as 200'. Also, from the track it looks like they drifted towards the middle of the river when the route chart shows they are supposed to follow the east shore. So could be both a lateral AND vertical error on the part of the UH-60 crew.
Whoever made that route is 100% to blame here. Isn't there somewhere safer to train in the us ??? This isn't rocket science guys. Don't train thru a busy airport. Are you aviation people slow or something?
Thanks Hoover. I´m a pilot and a former Air Traffic Controller. I think you are very close to what really happened. Such a tragedy. Condolance to the family and friends of the deceased.
As a retired controller and pilot, visual separation is something I used whenever and as often as I could. When properly used, it allows the controller to move a lot of traffic when he doesn't need to apply (ATC) separation that the pilots can apply themselves. Night time, however, is a different story... the pilot is "Seeing a light in the sky," not a physical airplane. A typical example... when I was a controller at McCarran (Las Vegas) in the 70's The predominant 'light aircraft' runway was 19L and 19R, while air carriers went to 25. The majority of light aircraft were arriving from Southern California. In addition to visual separation between arrivals and departures, we used Interstate-15. With either an arrival or departure, we would instruct the aircraft to keep the freeway ON THEIR LEFT and allow climb/descent at their discretion while in the TCA. I've not worked Reagan Tower, so I can only speculate. Had the controller advised PAT25 to remain east of the river until passing the traffic, the situation is resolved. Since the H-60 collided with the plane, it's apparent he had visual with another plane, or he lost visual and didn't take corrective action. Someone made a mistake last night, and unfortunately, they ended their flight in the Potomac....
I believe you are correct about the visual with another plane the next plane in the sequence for runway 1 was AA3130, a larger A319 aircraft which is also flying on a course which is not far off 180 degrees relative to the helicopter. Thus you have very little motion parallax on either and depth perception is significantly impaired at night so mistaking the lights of the A319 for the smaller wingspan CRJ and mistakenly believing that you have the traffic in sight while you are actually fixating on the wrong aircraft without realising it.
To me, it seems so hilarious when the tower asks if he can see the crj... in the night? With all that traffic? I still don't understand how they can trust visual so much....
Great analysis. I flew Blackhawks for a short period in my career before turning fixed wing then airline pilot. You nailed it. Prayers for the families of the passengers and crew members. It’s all one big family. Keep up the good work!
American cable news is useless. They're only concerned with getting on air first, facts be damned. The 24hr news networks just need filler content so they call on these so-called "experts" and the anchors ask them the dumbest leading questions. It's pretty pathetic.
I was so tired of the news media reporting little and then getting that wrong. I was glad to see Blancolirio address this crash, and especially you with a more in depth look at this. Thank you for posting this video!
Thanks for your analysis. My CRJ captain son-in-law (different airline) flew into DCA today. I’m sure it was an emotional time for him so soon after the tragedy.
My son always wanted to be a pilot but I told him it wasn't a very good idea. Glad he didn't become 1. May your son always fly safely and to stay alert.
I'm not a pilot, I'm a fan of this channel because I love aircraft. I've seen every one of your videos. Thank you for breaking this down instead of the news casters trying to explain something that they don't know anything about. Again thank you.
My step-daughter was flying in to work the auto show. Her plane landed just prior to the crash, 8:45. She saw and heard all the first responders rushing to the scene.
Thank you for this. I live in Ashburn where some of the victims went to local skating rink as I understand....so this hits home. Have been watching you for the better part of a year now...and I trust your take on incidents like this over the news any day of the week. Such a tragic story. Please keep up the work you do on this channel.
67 lives lost because the army wanted to insert a training exercise on the final glide slope of a major commercial airport. Even if they pulled it off there would have been separation of only a couple hundred feet.
@@StrawberryFieldsNIRI can assure you they were doing their absolute best to follow all the rules. They always did the right thing. It was a mistake anyone could make. This is the truth.
@ Look at the zigzag the chopper was making. If they had not done that, no collision. Also, just read another report, the night before a landing aircraft had to abort landing with very similar circumstances. They need the air space to be sorted out, and for the army to stop doing their own thing.
I am addicted to this channel! What a great teacher this man has been for me and I'm 68yrs old. My respect for Aviation in general has gone through an incredible experience.
I'm glad you mentioned both aircraft and runways. Nobody else seems to have caught that. After listening to the LiveATC recording of the incident and watching that video, the first thing I wondered was if the Blackhawk crew mis-identified their traffic to follow.
Awesome, as always. Between you and VASAviation's radar sim with synced audio, and Blancolirio there's great experience, analysis, and real data. Condolences to the families, the ATC controller, and the first responders. :(
Thank you, Hoover. Being a crew member , im mourning this tragedy. Im devastated as today i can't even get myself out of the house. God knows how many times i have flown in and out of DCA. Thank you for your take. I just can't handle conspiracy theories right now . I believe this is a tragic link of human errors that led to this tragedy as we all know the lining up of holes in the cheese model. Let's keep in our prayers the families of these victims, but please let's also embrace the brave rescue divers jumping into dark freezing waters with fuel and debris, bringing to the surface those who were found. Thank you, Hoover . I'm so grateful for your video. 💔
That is so well said, Tarika! Lots of people grieving these deaths in their community: the skating community, the military community, and the aviation community. And of course the first responder community who know how horrible this has been for the men and women who are dealing with the aftermath. I think anyone who doesn't have something kind to say today should just keep it zipped.
Thanks Hoover, VAS has the ATC audio up. As a former SEL VFR guy, hearing "they just went" makes me well up. I do miss flying, but things are crazy out there these days. I'm perfectly happy driving to my destinations in 2025.
Nope not even close. Flying is more dangerous those stats were done incorrectly. Because they are comparing miles to miles. When you compare trips vs trips flying is far more dangerous.
After reading a bunch of ridiculous speculation online today, its nice to have your straightforward breakdown and insight added to the mix. Thanks, Hoover.
@@mikeymike69 I don't even know how people are jumping to this conclusion, like they know nothing about the pilots and their history or ATCs....its ridiculous
@@admiralsnackbar69 that's because it's the easy way out to avoid accountability and to push agendas. Unfortunately, DEI is the new buzzword everyone is going to mention whenever something negative happens. It's very ridiculous.
The rate of near-misses and narrowly avoided mid-air collisions in air travel has been on the rise for years, and many in the aviation community have spent quite a while trying to sound the alarm on it. I had a very grim feeling in my gut that it'd only be a matter of time before a heartbreaking tragedy like this unfolded. And now here we are.
To know that the helicopter pilot, understabding he had to remain below 200 feet, would allow himself to climb to 300 feet, especially in that situation, is almost unbelievable.
Rest in peace to all individuals involved in the crash. Truly devastating. Been waiting for you to post about this since 3am! Thank you again for another informative video Hoover.
Thank you for doing a debrief on a current event. I know it's not something you normally do but the it's great to hear someone who knows what they are talking about in the flood of confusion coming from the mainstream media.
Hoover I actually watch your videos to help with my anxiety on planes. They actually help me realize the amount of things that have to go wrong for a crash to occur. I just flew out of DCA the day before this and man I needed to hear from you. Thanks.
As a general rule, the FAA probably should ban the practice of permitting low altitude aircraft from intercepting flight arrival and departure corridors using visual separation only.
Thank you for sharing your insight so promptly. I’m sure I’m not the only person who has been waiting to get your professional perspective on this tragedy. My thoughts and prayers go up for everyone affected by this tragic incident. Wishing you and yours all the best.
Hoover, I was hoping you were going to come online regarding this tragedy and THANK YOU for your professional insights that even us non-pilots can understand since I have heard so much on the news from the "experts" that had me thinking that YOU were the BEST one that I needed to hear from. Again, many thanks!
I don't know anything about air-traffic management, but this is the first of numerous videos with commentary & visuals that appear to make sense of what happened. Thanks for doing the work to put this together. (I'm subscribing).
Hoover, thank you for this explanation. I'm struggling as a frequent passenger why any air traffic would be allowed to fly near a landing path/zone. If it's too busy, then that helicopter should not have been allowed to be there. Such a sad story.
Thank you Hoover for your informed and intelligent report of this awful tragedy. So much misinformation, excess speculation and even blaming going on before all the facts are determined.
The military has no business operating near a major civilian airport. They have enough restricted air zones for their bases and training, they can literally train anywhere else. This was a ridiculous tragedy that should have never happened. Mistakes happen so they should not have free reign to fly anywhere. This pilot was at the wrong altitude too! As always, great explanation Hoover. This was a rough one.
I just heard a report that the crash happened at 300-400 feet and the FAA has a hard ceiling set at 200 for all helicopters flying over the Potomac river in that area...if that's correct, it seems they had put in place that limit specifically to prevent something like this from happening..."the holes in the Swiss cheese lining up" as we've heard on this channel... But I agree with you, no air traffic should ever be allowed to route through final approach paths in this kind of airspace...perhaps if the helicopter had followed FAA regulations for that airspace and stayed under 200 feet, assuming that turns out to be correct, this likely would have been avoided, but even the possibility of two aircraft passing like this within ~100 feet of each other vertically is insane and an accident waiting to happen as you say...
I was so excited when the notification popped up for your vid‼️ I’m following this tragedy closely and your debrief is crucial to my understanding. My son is a commercial pilot and flies into this airspace frequently. Thank you so much for jumping right on this🙏‼️
This seems like such a throw-back of an accident. I can't believe anyone really expects to be able to maintain visual separation between a potentially slow-moving vehicle like a helicopter and a fast plane, in the dark at an airport. It's just incomprehensible if that's what happened.
My thoughts go out to the victims, which include 14 from the figure skating community of junior competitors from the Boston skating club. In a 1961 plane crash in Belgium the entire U.S figure skating team of 18 as well as 16 officials and family were killed. Half of those who were killed in that crash were also from this same Boston skating club. Much love from Australia 🇦🇺❤️
Thank you for coming on to help us as readily as you did. Military crossing over commercial paths just seems an accident waiting to happen. Superior ATC is likely the reason for decades of safety. Another commercial pilot on TH-cam feels, as do you, the Helicopter pilot had his visual on the wrong airplane; the one after Bombadier. Yes, many real prayers for the hurting. Hard to deal with so much tragedy in recent weeks.
this was just stupidity. Helicopter pilot likely failed to see the crj, he also drifted higher than 200 ft, and the controller goofed for not noticing the helicopter getting too close to the jet,which he probably could see on the radar.
@@davidlindgren7605 ATC correctly reconfirmed with heli if he had the CRJ in sight which heli pilot affirmed. ATC was perfectly reasonable in assuming heli would stay visually separated. Blaming ATC for anything here is asinine.
Didn't the helicopter make a sharp right turn and then it hit the airplane? Look at the flight pattern online. I wonder why it turned so sharp to the right?
@MissX905 I'm only repeating what I heard from a commercial pilot who is, of course, familiar with that air space. He said the helicopters travel above the river, following its path. As you can see PAT25 came down the river, did a common brief swerve inward then back out to the river and turned sharp to continue following the river when it collided with the airplane.
Good analysis. Possible lesson learned ... with heavy traffic congestion in the airport traffic area, especially at night, ATC should not allow visual separation, except for emergency collision avoidance.
I'm a retired Navy pilot, did two mishap investigations, Graduate degree in Aeronautical Science with an emphasis in Aviation Safety. I agree with everything you said. Though it was daytime, under a bit different set of circumstances, PSA Flt 182's mid-air collision with a Cessna 172 over San Diego, CA in 1978, has some key similarities with respect to visually calling an aircraft in sight in VMC, losing sight, etc.
@rElliot09 Do you think from the other data that shows other CRJs nearby (see VAS Aviation's video for data) that the Blackhawk might have seen a different plane? There was one right before that landed on runway 1 and other aircraft had taken off and more lined up on the mount vernon approach? I am curious what someone of your experience thinks.
@@alicehendricks It is possible. I don't know if they were on their NVG's, which poses other issues, but nigh flying is challenging. It is easy mistake aircraft, even cars, depending on how and where you are looking.
I remember that day well - I was a senior in HS in SD and saw the smoke in the morning - it was clear and warm.. My brother worked at PSA and was one of the first from the airline on-scene. He never talked much about that day...
Graphics were spot-on in this one, Hoover. Really helped explain what we have been seeing, and was easy for us non-pilots to understand. Terribly tragic, but appreciate (as always) your desire to educate the flying community to hopefully prevent future mishaps.
My mom’s a gate agent at CLT, apparently this crew was based out of CLT and she told me she’s spoken to the male FA multiple times. Such a sad and tragic situation
Hoover, thank you for quickly getting this debriefing out. This is a horrible tragedy that should have never happened. I was looking forward to your debriefing.
I am glad to see this video. Obviously, not glad that this happened, but glad to hear your take on it, and I knew you'd have an unbiased, detailed breakdown of what happened, even though it just happened. I'm so sad for the victims and their families. As soon as I heard "midair collision" my heart sank - those are almost always tragic. Thank you for this. I learn so much from watching your videos.
I just finished watching another pilot channel who seems convinced the helicopter was looking at the wrong plane as visual traffic and not the American flight that it collided into. He played the actual audio from the plane, helicopter, and tower. It is compelling.
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My second thought upon learning of this tragedy in real time (the first being how horrible and likely preventable it was) was "I sure hope Hoover covers this soon!" Thank you for your informed, balanced, and unbiased insights, as usual.
Hoover, I believe you absolutely called it. The helo pilots were most likely looking at someone / something else that they perceived was the traffic. Most likely the Airbus which was heading to Rwy 1. Based on their perspective, they would initially only have been able see the red wingtip light of 5342 crossing in front. This would be very hard to depict in a sea of bright lights surrounding them. And then there's the 'black hole' effect of the Potomac, making it very easy to misjudge the altitude of another aircraft as well as your own. - Yet another hole for the Swiss cheese model. Regardless, great video and very thorough explanation.
If the helo pilots were using night vision goggles, they were very irresponsible because when you wear night vision goggles it’s like looking through a soda straw. That is not a smart way to fly in a congested civilian airspace.
I'm so glad you decided to do this video now. I like how you displayed what we know (at this time) from both the airplane and helicopter and synced (sp) up the voice recordings. Thank you for using your experience and expertise to let us know what might have been the reason(s) for this terrible tragedy. My heart goes out to all those affected by this terrible crash.
I really appreciate you putting this video out there with strictly the facts. There’s always so much speculation by people who don’t know anything after these tragic events.
Thanks for getting to this so soon, Hoover. I try not to watch the news, and I knew you’d be a good source on this incident. I’ve been watching for ya.
Finally a video of somebody who knows what they are talking about presenting factual, rational explanations. I’m really disappointed in a lot of the TH-cam people talking about ”was this intentional“, and I’m exceedingly disappointed in the President immediately blaming the controller and assassinating his character as a DEI hire or incompetent without knowing or understanding what happened.
No altimeter setting or altitude call outs on ATC contact ... Not normal procedure here. Jet was fine, But helicopter & ATC had no altitude discipline ... Pilot busted maximum altitude for route and ATC radar shows helicopter climbing long before collision... Pilots I know have been griping about the lack of quality hires in maintenance and pilots... Seen it. Me? A Commercial helicopter pilot for 45+ years... It'll take months to fix this mess if not years
This is the video I've been waiting for. Have been avoiding other channels covering it, for your inevitable video. Very sorry, and my condolences to the families involved. 🙏
Mick West has a video where he recreated the scene from available data. He hypothesized that the Blackhawk pilot was looking at N765US (AA3130) and confused it with the CRJ. AA3130 was a bigger (and brighter?) jet and at 1100 feet coming in on final to runway 1.
Also appears the chopper ascended from 200 feet (max altitude for the chopper in that airspace, I believe) to 300 feet for reasons unknown, putting it at the same altitude as the Bombardier which was descending. As a casual, uninformed observer, I'm amazed by these very tight airspace restrictions and curious as to why the Blackhawk pilot (apparently) decided to ascend at exactly the wrong time, with tragic consequences. Had he/she remained at 200 feet, it would have been incredibly close, but no collision.
@@CaptTerrific And according to our new President, migrants eat house pets. We have officially entered the Political Twilight Zone, where facts and reality have little value. How does it end? In one word, "badly."
it's unreal how well you put together such a factual, respectful, quality report in such a short time-frame. Absolutely my go-to for early debrief/reports.
Hoover I have been watching your videos for a few months now and love the way you break things down and explain them. I couldn’t wait until you put something out about this crash. You are the only one I trust to put out all the factsin an unbiased way. I hope you eventually put out a video once the final report has been released. From a fellow veteran thank you for your service. HOOAH!
Gutsy to do this so soon after the accident. However, your analysis is better than anything I have heard so far. I hope you publish a full review after the NTSB releases theirs. Good work Hoover! 👍
I’ve been asked many times to opt for rwy 33. If I never briefed for runway 33, prior to the approach, I will not accept it at that point. Standard operating procedures in the airline world… if you didn’t brief it, you got no business shooting it! Consider circling maneuvers at night… Pilot flying - looking hard to the left in the turn, as they descend to final and a copilot looking at instruments. There was likely no brief to consider traffic and who’d be looking where. Also, the RJ position was out over the city lights, I doubt anyone would have seen it out there. It is common to get really tight there , especially that time at night. Best option if it’s to tight is opt for the go-around. Good video 👍👍 Prayers to those all involved. Be safe out there everyone.
One of the most puzzling things for me is that they apparently regularly have the VIP and military helicopters flying that close under the flight path anyway. It seems like it would just make more sense to send them further away from the landing traffic to at least cut under them when they aren't so low and so focused on the final landing portion of their flight.
I consistently fly into Boston and they have helicopters making visual transitions through the departure and approach ends all the time. It's just part of a busy class Bravo air space.
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There was some people saying Congress passed something years ago changing heli flights to land there. Not sure how in depth it went.
Noise abatement procedures and restrictions against flying over DC. There is no one on the river who will complain about noisy helicopters over their house at night. Also, if a helicopter crashed into the city, people would be asking why they don't fly over the river instead. So, to keep people from complaining, air traffic is squeezed into narrow corridors near airports.
i dont think theres anything wrong with it, however through the grapevine i heard the helicopters are supposed to transisition @ like 2-300' not sure how true that is. would make sense though.
As usual, thanks to Hoover for respectfully clarifying a tragic situation. Honestly, I waited to look into this disaster too much until you made a video because your explanations are always the most considered and empathetic to the victims and to the pilots. For anyone involved in aviation, these things chill us to the bone, and it hurts to think about the staggering loss of life. But a debrief done right is like an elixir to the pain; it kind of gives you a dark fuel to continue to go forward once you have learned from the 'mistakes' of others. Maybe this is just a pilot's mindset, but a debrief offers hope instead of blame. Mistakes are a human certainty, and aviation has a way of manifesting that certainty in grimly spectacular fashion. But again, there is the debrief. Debrief, adjust, improve, and continue on.
One thing to consider, the Blackhawk pilot may have looked at the AC taking off, not the one landing. Very sad say. Thank you for your professionalism in this video.
Here's the link to the flight data (FlySto is FREE): bit.ly/42wNrDn
If you're new to the channel or missed last week's video, you can check out that tragedy here: th-cam.com/video/DdtsQZ8eZos/w-d-xo.html
Yes, there is a typo and misspeak in the video: It is ASDE-X (Airport Surface Detection Equipment).
Love the channel, you always do a great job explaining things. Question: Is it possible that the Apache pilot mistook the CRJ in front of 5342 as the plane to go behind or is it more likely they lost track of 5342?
The only way to avoid this, is to make TCAS give different resolutions at low altitudes such as turn Left/Right instead of Climb/Descend, which is a dangerous command at this low altitude.
President Trump blamed DEI hiring for this tragedy. How accurate is this?
Hey Hoover, what are your thoughts on that pilots and controllers talking so fast and in code that clear and concise communication gets lost in translation all too often???
Night vision is 2D.
DCA captain here. Finally somebody who knows what they are talking about. The news has had this so messed up from the beginning.
I heard their “experts” say today that runway 33 is rarely ever used. They literally broadcast it everyday on the ATIS “Arrivals expect MTV 01 landing runways 1 and 33.”
agreed. even POTUS spewing complete and utter nonsense on TV. thankful for folks like Pilot Debrief.
@@Backtobackchamps I think it’s not only possible but likely. I’ve never flown under goggles though so that’s out of my expertise. However, i find it easier to locate aircraft at night than in the day. Again assuming not under goggles.
@@Backtobackchamps I thought he said clearly it's a Blackhawk, not Apache.
Some news caster said runway 1 was the most important runway because it was labeled 1. I was like, what?
I am so glad you did a video without waiting years for the official report. You are one of our trusted sources on YT. Thanks
He usually waits for NTSB reports but I think it's better not to, especially when he knows what he's talking about. It should be case by case.
@@FrigginCatsBruh NTSB? Enjoy it while you can.
He posts quite soon after incidents sometimes, but he always makes it clear where things are uncertain or speculative. Unlike some people.
I don't think military helicopters have transponders so TCAS. Aren't Blackhawks made by Bell not Sikorski. They're pulling a lot of bodies out right now.
Once again, a guy next to his kitchen at home on his computer, reports the news 110% more accurate and professional than mainstream media. Thank you for the detailed explanation.
how else are we supposed to blame trump?
But not you.
This is an aircraft enthusiast channel, mainstream news will not go into this much detail, it is not their job. You are a man in his kitchen on a computer and you cannot do any of this.
Specialist vs generalist.
Yes, a licensed pilot running a flying-enthusiast channel will have more accurate and detailed reporting than news agencies trying to report general information for the general public.
The vast majority of people watching the news aren't interested in a 20+ minute explanation of every detail. Those who are can find channels like this.
This is why I love this channel. No sensationalism, just an objective look and facts.
This channel & Blancolirio are my 2 go-to's for all things air incident related.
Pilot Debrief did a debrief on this already?! I watch you daily….this is way more trustworthy than what I’ve seen on the news. Still waiting for 74 Gear and Mentour….thank you ❤️
Mannn I've been avoiding news outlets to wait for your reporting... Glad you are on top of it
ME TOO!
Me, too. I trust Hoover!
FYI, man landed on the moon in 1969. if u avoid the news, u wont know this
@@SoyAntonioGaming And also will not know that your ally Israel bombed the hell out of USS Liberty and that they are not allowed to talk about what they saw until today. You’ll also not know many things and know many wrong things.
Same. Thank you, Hoover!
Per Juan Brown the Blackhawk was supposed to stay at 200 feet or below on his flight path, this was a published route with altitude restrictions for the helicopter. At the point of impact the helicopter was over 300 feet possibly 400. You guys are two of the best!!
The last MLAT from a playback of PAT25 on ADSB exchange shows them at 200' but I have seen a screenshot showing them at 350'. Not sure where it came from. The chart for the helo routes indicate max AGL as 200'. Also, from the track it looks like they drifted towards the middle of the river when the route chart shows they are supposed to follow the east shore. So could be both a lateral AND vertical error on the part of the UH-60 crew.
@@clarkpj1 from the blancolirio video it looks like he bumps up to 300 and then 350 right before impact.
I totally agree with you
Hoover and Juan are great
Whoever made that route is 100% to blame here. Isn't there somewhere safer to train in the us ??? This isn't rocket science guys. Don't train thru a busy airport. Are you aviation people slow or something?
Thanks Hoover. I´m a pilot and a former Air Traffic Controller. I think you are very close to what really happened. Such a tragedy. Condolance to the family and friends of the deceased.
I am sure the family was waiting for YOUR condolences.
@@Capecodham- Why be rude?
Condolences to our nation is seeing the toddler in chief and many realizing for the first time what a disaster we find ourselves in with no way out.
Why didn't ATC give the BlackHawk an altitude to maintain if they thought a collision was imminent?
@@genuineimpulse9134 not the place guy
As a retired controller and pilot, visual separation is something I used whenever and as often as I could. When properly used, it allows the controller to move a lot of traffic when he doesn't need to apply (ATC) separation that the pilots can apply themselves. Night time, however, is a different story... the pilot is "Seeing a light in the sky," not a physical airplane. A typical example... when I was a controller at McCarran (Las Vegas) in the 70's The predominant 'light aircraft' runway was 19L and 19R, while air carriers went to 25. The majority of light aircraft were arriving from Southern California. In addition to visual separation between arrivals and departures, we used Interstate-15. With either an arrival or departure, we would instruct the aircraft to keep the freeway ON THEIR LEFT and allow climb/descent at their discretion while in the TCA.
I've not worked Reagan Tower, so I can only speculate. Had the controller advised PAT25 to remain east of the river until passing the traffic, the situation is resolved. Since the H-60 collided with the plane, it's apparent he had visual with another plane, or he lost visual and didn't take corrective action. Someone made a mistake last night, and unfortunately, they ended their flight in the Potomac....
I believe you are correct about the visual with another plane the next plane in the sequence for runway 1 was AA3130, a larger A319 aircraft which is also flying on a course which is not far off 180 degrees relative to the helicopter. Thus you have very little motion parallax on either and depth perception is significantly impaired at night so mistaking the lights of the A319 for the smaller wingspan CRJ and mistakenly believing that you have the traffic in sight while you are actually fixating on the wrong aircraft without realising it.
How could the pilot of the Blackhawk not see the obviously closer plane with all the lights on it as it was approaching for a landing?
To me, it seems so hilarious when the tower asks if he can see the crj... in the night? With all that traffic? I still don't understand how they can trust visual so much....
Great analysis. I flew Blackhawks for a short period in my career before turning fixed wing then airline pilot. You nailed it. Prayers for the families of the passengers and crew members. It’s all one big family. Keep up the good work!
Hoover I am glad you were on top of this. I always love your insight into these mishaps. Keep up the great work.
Much appreciated!
American cable news is useless. They're only concerned with getting on air first, facts be damned. The 24hr news networks just need filler content so they call on these so-called "experts" and the anchors ask them the dumbest leading questions. It's pretty pathetic.
I would call this a little more than a ‘mishap’ 🤨
I was looking forward to hearing from you about this tragedy. Thank you for your professional and compassionate work.
As part of a family of one of the victims, thank you. The clarity is helpful.
Sorry for your loss 😢
I am very sorry for your loss.
Sending strength over the ocean 🤍
Praying for you and your family. 🙏🏿
I am so very sorry.😢💔
I work for PSA. this is chilling and heartbreaking. Rest in peace to everyone. Thank you for the work you do.
I feel for the whole team in the tower.
I was so tired of the news media reporting little and then getting that wrong. I was glad to see Blancolirio address this crash, and especially you with a more in depth look at this. Thank you for posting this video!
Thanks for your analysis. My CRJ captain son-in-law (different airline) flew into DCA today. I’m sure it was an emotional time for him so soon after the tragedy.
My son always wanted to be a pilot but I told him it wasn't a very good idea. Glad he didn't become 1. May your son always fly safely and to stay alert.
I'm not a pilot, I'm a fan of this channel because I love aircraft. I've seen every one of your videos. Thank you for breaking this down instead of the news casters trying to explain something that they don't know anything about. Again thank you.
Pilot debrief the best breakdown anything related aviation channel on TH-cam!
there a few good ones....Hoover can be a little over dramatic.
I like Hoover. I also watch @TheFlightChannel a LOT. It's very scientific and fact based, and there is never a talking face. Give it a look.
My step-daughter was flying in to work the auto show. Her plane landed just prior to the crash, 8:45. She saw and heard all the first responders rushing to the scene.
Thank you for this. I live in Ashburn where some of the victims went to local skating rink as I understand....so this hits home. Have been watching you for the better part of a year now...and I trust your take on incidents like this over the news any day of the week. Such a tragic story. Please keep up the work you do on this channel.
67 lives lost because the army wanted to insert a training exercise on the final glide slope of a major commercial airport. Even if they pulled it off there would have been separation of only a couple hundred feet.
MAJOR changes coming!
@@scotabot7826 Definitely. And we all know who was at fault - they need to follow the rules, not do their own thing
It wasn’t a training exercise. It was training. It has happened literally every night of the year for the last 3 decades at least.
@@StrawberryFieldsNIRI can assure you they were doing their absolute best to follow all the rules. They always did the right thing. It was a mistake anyone could make. This is the truth.
@ Look at the zigzag the chopper was making. If they had not done that, no collision.
Also, just read another report, the night before a landing aircraft had to abort landing with very similar circumstances.
They need the air space to be sorted out, and for the army to stop doing their own thing.
Thank you so much Hoover, I trust your input into this horrible tragedy, my thoughts and prayers are for all those left to grieve.
I am addicted to this channel! What a great teacher this man has been for me and I'm 68yrs old. My respect for Aviation in general has gone through an incredible experience.
I'm glad you mentioned both aircraft and runways. Nobody else seems to have caught that. After listening to the LiveATC recording of the incident and watching that video, the first thing I wondered was if the Blackhawk crew mis-identified their traffic to follow.
i dont think so because the distance betwen the two was great. He also confirmed he had the CRJ in sight after the first one wasnt there
RIP to the crew, passengers and servicemen who were lost in this terrible tragedy. May our media learn that being right is better than being first.
Awesome, as always. Between you and VASAviation's radar sim with synced audio, and Blancolirio there's great experience, analysis, and real data. Condolences to the families, the ATC controller, and the first responders. :(
I am sure the family was waiting for YOUR condolences.
Thank you, Hoover. Being a crew member , im mourning this tragedy. Im devastated as today i can't even get myself out of the house. God knows how many times i have flown in and out of DCA.
Thank you for your take. I just can't handle conspiracy theories right now . I believe this is a tragic link of human errors that led to this tragedy as we all know the lining up of holes in the cheese model.
Let's keep in our prayers the families of these victims, but please let's also embrace the brave rescue divers jumping into dark freezing waters with fuel and debris, bringing to the surface those who were found.
Thank you, Hoover . I'm so grateful for your video. 💔
Definitely! So appreciate and thankful for what has to be a tough situation regardless of the times you do it.
That is so well said, Tarika! Lots of people grieving these deaths in their community: the skating community, the military community, and the aviation community. And of course the first responder community who know how horrible this has been for the men and women who are dealing with the aftermath. I think anyone who doesn't have something kind to say today should just keep it zipped.
@margaretrose711 Beautifully stated. 💔🙏💔
@@mac.8184 💔🙏🙏💔
Totally-we all desperately needed a rational well-considered 0:00 explanation and Hoover provided such!
Thanks Hoover, VAS has the ATC audio up. As a former SEL VFR guy, hearing "they just went" makes me well up. I do miss flying, but things are crazy out there these days. I'm perfectly happy driving to my destinations in 2025.
do you have a link to the ATC audio?
Greater chance of you dying from driving than flying.
@@josephwilliamcosta VASAviation is the channel name on TH-cam
Nope not even close. Flying is more dangerous those stats were done incorrectly. Because they are comparing miles to miles. When you compare trips vs trips flying is far more dangerous.
@@eeroala5132thanks for that clarification.
After reading a bunch of ridiculous speculation online today, its nice to have your straightforward breakdown and insight added to the mix. Thanks, Hoover.
Amen
Well said
I know right, Hoover totally didn't mention DEI being a possible cause of this accident... I live in Iowa and that's all I've heard all day...
@@mikeymike69 I don't even know how people are jumping to this conclusion, like they know nothing about the pilots and their history or ATCs....its ridiculous
@@admiralsnackbar69 that's because it's the easy way out to avoid accountability and to push agendas. Unfortunately, DEI is the new buzzword everyone is going to mention whenever something negative happens. It's very ridiculous.
The rate of near-misses and narrowly avoided mid-air collisions in air travel has been on the rise for years, and many in the aviation community have spent quite a while trying to sound the alarm on it. I had a very grim feeling in my gut that it'd only be a matter of time before a heartbreaking tragedy like this unfolded. And now here we are.
America is in decline. They aren't thinking about making the world a better place anymore. It's just get yours and screw everyone else.
To know that the helicopter pilot, understabding he had to remain below 200 feet, would allow himself to climb to 300 feet, especially in that situation, is almost unbelievable.
Rest in peace to all individuals involved in the crash. Truly devastating. Been waiting for you to post about this since 3am! Thank you again for another informative video Hoover.
I don’t listen to the news for these accidents. I listen to you and Juan Browne for the real facts.
This
They are my go-to sources for anything aviation related.
Oh good,
I was hoping I wouldn't have to wait to Sunday to hear from you. Thanks bunches
Thank you for doing a debrief on a current event. I know it's not something you normally do but the it's great to hear someone who knows what they are talking about in the flood of confusion coming from the mainstream media.
Thanks for the providing facts. No blaming people from diverse backgrounds, no political finger pointing, just real information
Ok liberal quit whining
@@EricSmith-gn7ndbless your heart sweetie
@@EricSmith-gn7nd You're what's wrong with America...
@@DifferentAverage i guess i was correct.. so predictable..
@@EricSmith-gn7nd You're the one whining.
Hoover I actually watch your videos to help with my anxiety on planes. They actually help me realize the amount of things that have to go wrong for a crash to occur. I just flew out of DCA the day before this and man I needed to hear from you. Thanks.
As a general rule, the FAA probably should ban the practice of permitting low altitude aircraft from intercepting flight arrival and departure corridors using visual separation only.
Thank you for sharing your insight so promptly. I’m sure I’m not the only person who has been waiting to get your professional perspective on this tragedy. My thoughts and prayers go up for everyone affected by this tragic incident. Wishing you and yours all the best.
Hoover, I was hoping you were going to come online regarding this tragedy and THANK YOU for your professional insights that even us non-pilots can understand since I have heard so much on the news from the "experts" that had me thinking that YOU were the BEST one that I needed to hear from. Again, many thanks!
I don't know anything about air-traffic management, but this is the first of numerous videos with
commentary & visuals that appear to make sense of what happened. Thanks for doing the work to
put this together. (I'm subscribing).
You are in a class of your own, Sir!
Amazing breakdown.
not to take anything away from Hoover but he is not in a class of his own
Hoover, thank you for this explanation. I'm struggling as a frequent passenger why any air traffic would be allowed to fly near a landing path/zone. If it's too busy, then that helicopter should not have been allowed to be there. Such a sad story.
absoltutely correct. No safety margin at all with so many planes in the air.
I deliberately logged in to hear your take on this after so much ill informed info on tv etc. You're the man who knows how to look at these events.
Thank you Hoover for your informed and intelligent report of this awful tragedy. So much misinformation, excess speculation and even blaming going on before all the facts are determined.
The military has no business operating near a major civilian airport. They have enough restricted air zones for their bases and training, they can literally train anywhere else. This was a ridiculous tragedy that should have never happened. Mistakes happen so they should not have free reign to fly anywhere. This pilot was at the wrong altitude too! As always, great explanation Hoover. This was a rough one.
Maybe don't build a busy airport right next to The Capitol, which absolutely must have military flights.
No air traffic should be crossing final approach at that level in a class B airspace. This was an accident waiting to happen.
Agree. But I bet they do it often.
Yes, especially at the prohibited altitude.
I’m guessing it happens all the time. With VIP passengers. 😳
Not the towers fault. Blackhawk said he was on visual. Blame him
I just heard a report that the crash happened at 300-400 feet and the FAA has a hard ceiling set at 200 for all helicopters flying over the Potomac river in that area...if that's correct, it seems they had put in place that limit specifically to prevent something like this from happening..."the holes in the Swiss cheese lining up" as we've heard on this channel...
But I agree with you, no air traffic should ever be allowed to route through final approach paths in this kind of airspace...perhaps if the helicopter had followed FAA regulations for that airspace and stayed under 200 feet, assuming that turns out to be correct, this likely would have been avoided, but even the possibility of two aircraft passing like this within ~100 feet of each other vertically is insane and an accident waiting to happen as you say...
I waited and waited for you to talk about this as I really respect your judgements sir.
I was so excited when the notification popped up for your vid‼️ I’m following this tragedy closely and your debrief is crucial to my understanding. My son is a commercial pilot and flies into this airspace frequently. Thank you so much for jumping right on this🙏‼️
I'm so grateful that you're hear when we need you! Thanks! ❤
Thanks Hoover! I really appreciate your clarity. Thoughts and prayers to all the families and friends.
This seems like such a throw-back of an accident. I can't believe anyone really expects to be able to maintain visual separation between a potentially slow-moving vehicle like a helicopter and a fast plane, in the dark at an airport. It's just incomprehensible if that's what happened.
it's an absolutely needless and inane expectation
My thoughts go out to the victims, which include 14 from the figure skating community of junior competitors from the Boston skating club. In a 1961 plane crash in Belgium the entire U.S figure skating team of 18 as well as 16 officials and family were killed. Half of those who were killed in that crash were also from this same Boston skating club. Much love from Australia 🇦🇺❤️
I was waiting for this too as I also remember the 1961 crash😢
What terrible, awful, no-good luck. I’m so sorry to the BSC and to all affected by this accident.
Thank you for coming on to help us as readily as you did.
Military crossing over commercial paths just seems an accident waiting to happen. Superior ATC is likely the reason for decades of safety. Another commercial pilot on TH-cam feels, as do you, the Helicopter pilot had his visual on the wrong airplane; the one after Bombadier.
Yes, many real prayers for the hurting. Hard to deal with so much tragedy in recent weeks.
this was just stupidity. Helicopter pilot likely failed to see the crj, he also drifted higher than 200 ft, and the controller goofed for not noticing the helicopter getting too close to the jet,which he probably could see on the radar.
@@davidlindgren7605 ATC correctly reconfirmed with heli if he had the CRJ in sight which heli pilot affirmed. ATC was perfectly reasonable in assuming heli would stay visually separated. Blaming ATC for anything here is asinine.
Didn't the helicopter make a sharp right turn and then it hit the airplane? Look at the flight pattern online. I wonder why it turned so sharp to the right?
@MissX905
I'm only repeating what I heard from a commercial pilot who is, of course, familiar with that air space. He said the helicopters travel above the river, following its path. As you can see PAT25 came down the river, did a common brief swerve inward then back out to the river and turned sharp to continue following the river when it collided with the airplane.
Thank you for the most reasonable explanation of the crash.
Good analysis. Possible lesson learned ... with heavy traffic congestion in the airport traffic area, especially at night, ATC should not allow visual separation, except for emergency collision avoidance.
I'm a retired Navy pilot, did two mishap investigations, Graduate degree in Aeronautical Science with an emphasis in Aviation Safety. I agree with everything you said. Though it was daytime, under a bit different set of circumstances, PSA Flt 182's mid-air collision with a Cessna 172 over San Diego, CA in 1978, has some key similarities with respect to visually calling an aircraft in sight in VMC, losing sight, etc.
Exactly what I thought. How tragic.
@rElliot09 Do you think from the other data that shows other CRJs nearby (see VAS Aviation's video for data) that the Blackhawk might have seen a different plane? There was one right before that landed on runway 1 and other aircraft had taken off and more lined up on the mount vernon approach? I am curious what someone of your experience thinks.
@@alicehendricks It is possible. I don't know if they were on their NVG's, which poses other issues, but nigh flying is challenging. It is easy mistake aircraft, even cars, depending on how and where you are looking.
I remember that day well - I was a senior in HS in SD and saw the smoke in the morning - it was clear and warm.. My brother worked at PSA and was one of the first from the airline on-scene. He never talked much about that day...
right, but these morons thought they could maintain visual separation at night, when it's twice as hard as during the day.
Graphics were spot-on in this one, Hoover. Really helped explain what we have been seeing, and was easy for us non-pilots to understand. Terribly tragic, but appreciate (as always) your desire to educate the flying community to hopefully prevent future mishaps.
My mom’s a gate agent at CLT, apparently this crew was based out of CLT and she told me she’s spoken to the male FA multiple times. Such a sad and tragic situation
Really? I live near Charlotte.😢
@@mac.8184 Grats!
CLT?
PSA is moving their ops to CLT over the next 2 yrs
@@Capecodham it’s the airport code for Charlotte-Douglas International Airport. Charlotte, North Carolina
Hoover, thank you for quickly getting this debriefing out. This is a horrible tragedy that should have never happened. I was looking forward to your debriefing.
I am glad to see this video. Obviously, not glad that this happened, but glad to hear your take on it, and I knew you'd have an unbiased, detailed breakdown of what happened, even though it just happened. I'm so sad for the victims and their families. As soon as I heard "midair collision" my heart sank - those are almost always tragic. Thank you for this. I learn so much from watching your videos.
I just finished watching another pilot channel who seems convinced the helicopter was looking at the wrong plane as visual traffic and not the American flight that it collided into. He played the actual audio from the plane, helicopter, and tower. It is compelling.
My second thought upon learning of this tragedy in real time (the first being how horrible and likely preventable it was) was "I sure hope Hoover covers this soon!" Thank you for your informed, balanced, and unbiased insights, as usual.
Exactly
Hoover, I believe you absolutely called it. The helo pilots were most likely looking at someone / something else that they perceived was the traffic. Most likely the Airbus which was heading to Rwy 1. Based on their perspective, they would initially only have been able see the red wingtip light of 5342 crossing in front. This would be very hard to depict in a sea of bright lights surrounding them. And then there's the 'black hole' effect of the Potomac, making it very easy to misjudge the altitude of another aircraft as well as your own. - Yet another hole for the Swiss cheese model. Regardless, great video and very thorough explanation.
If the helo pilots were using night vision goggles, they were very irresponsible because when you wear night vision goggles it’s like looking through a soda straw. That is not a smart way to fly in a congested civilian airspace.
The Blackhawk was approaching the CRJ on its right side. The starboard (right side) navigation light is green on all aircraft and boats.
I'm so glad you decided to do this video now. I like how you displayed what we know (at this time) from both the airplane and helicopter and synced (sp) up the voice recordings. Thank you for using your experience and expertise to let us know what might have been the reason(s) for this terrible tragedy. My heart goes out to all those affected by this terrible crash.
I really appreciate you putting this video out there with strictly the facts. There’s always so much speculation by people who don’t know anything after these tragic events.
Hoover - you do a wonderful job explaining these situations for us folks who are not pilots. Thank you!
Hoover, between you and Juan Brown, thanks for the true professionals take on the tragedy.
Thanks for getting to this so soon, Hoover. I try not to watch the news, and I knew you’d be a good source on this incident. I’ve been watching for ya.
this is the best analysis I've seen on the crash
Finally a video of somebody who knows what they are talking about presenting factual, rational explanations. I’m really disappointed in a lot of the TH-cam people talking about ”was this intentional“, and I’m exceedingly disappointed in the President immediately blaming the controller and assassinating his character as a DEI hire or incompetent without knowing or understanding what happened.
even though the President is probably right.
Trump seems to like to shoot 1st and ask questions later. In case you didn't know the Pentagon was hiding the drone activity from the public.
trump is a moroon
No altimeter setting or altitude call outs on ATC contact ... Not normal procedure here. Jet was fine, But helicopter & ATC had no altitude discipline ... Pilot busted maximum altitude for route and ATC radar shows helicopter climbing long before collision... Pilots I know have been griping about the lack of quality hires in maintenance and pilots...
Seen it. Me? A Commercial helicopter pilot for 45+ years... It'll take months to fix this mess if not years
So glad to see you on today. The voice of reason. Thank you.
This is the video I've been waiting for. Have been avoiding other channels covering it, for your inevitable video. Very sorry, and my condolences to the families involved. 🙏
I am sure the family was waiting for YOUR condolences.
Mick West has a video where he recreated the scene from available data. He hypothesized that the Blackhawk pilot was looking at N765US (AA3130) and confused it with the CRJ. AA3130 was a bigger (and brighter?) jet and at 1100 feet coming in on final to runway 1.
Yep. Asking if the pilot saw the plane is just too generic
BRAVO! That is the best analysis on this tragedy I have seen on TH-cam - kudos to you and thank you!
You bring both knowledge and sensitivity to this terrible story. Thank you Hoover.
Thank you for everything you do, Hoover. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by this fatal crash.
Im so glad you came so quick with this!! ❤
Also appears the chopper ascended from 200 feet (max altitude for the chopper in that airspace, I believe) to 300 feet for reasons unknown, putting it at the same altitude as the Bombardier which was descending. As a casual, uninformed observer, I'm amazed by these very tight airspace restrictions and curious as to why the Blackhawk pilot (apparently) decided to ascend at exactly the wrong time, with tragic consequences. Had he/she remained at 200 feet, it would have been incredibly close, but no collision.
exactly helo busted the alititude restrictions..
@@jhinrichs378 I suspect pilot saw plane at last second and tried to pull up and back to avoid.
according to our new secretary of defense, it was because of DEI causing unnecessary stress on the helo pilot *eyeroll*
@@CaptTerrific dei is a strength... puke.
@@CaptTerrific And according to our new President, migrants eat house pets. We have officially entered the Political Twilight Zone, where facts and reality have little value. How does it end? In one word, "badly."
Thank you so much for getting this out so quickly, Hoover. I'm sure I wasn't alone in waiting for your expertise on this subject.
it's unreal how well you put together such a factual, respectful, quality report in such a short time-frame. Absolutely my go-to for early debrief/reports.
Hoover I have been watching your videos for a few months now and love the way you break things down and explain them. I couldn’t wait until you put something out about this crash. You are the only one I trust to put out all the factsin an unbiased way. I hope you eventually put out a video once the final report has been released. From a fellow veteran thank you for your service. HOOAH!
I've been waiting all day for this. thanks, hoover
im in flight attendant training we talked about this in class today
Make you want to change careers?
@@chimom7112 No when its my time its my time
@@BryanTheeStallionthat time is tomorrow
im in my bed at this time and me and my girlfrien also talked about the incident.
I'm jealous. Wish I had tried it before I had kids! Best of luck to you.💛@@BryanTheeStallion
Gutsy to do this so soon after the accident. However, your analysis is better than anything I have heard so far. I hope you publish a full review after the NTSB releases theirs. Good work Hoover! 👍
I’ve been asked many times to opt for rwy 33. If I never briefed for runway 33, prior to the approach, I will not accept it at that point. Standard operating procedures in the airline world… if you didn’t brief it, you got no business shooting it!
Consider circling maneuvers at night… Pilot flying - looking hard to the left in the turn, as they descend to final and a copilot looking at instruments. There was likely no brief to consider traffic and who’d be looking where.
Also, the RJ position was out over the city lights, I doubt anyone would have seen it out there.
It is common to get really tight there , especially that time at night. Best option if it’s to tight is opt for the go-around.
Good video 👍👍
Prayers to those all involved. Be safe out there everyone.
This channel is the best. This is the most comprehensive explanation for what happened in the crash… good on you!!!
This channel is so well put together, everything broken down and explained,well done Hoover
One of the most puzzling things for me is that they apparently regularly have the VIP and military helicopters flying that close under the flight path anyway. It seems like it would just make more sense to send them further away from the landing traffic to at least cut under them when they aren't so low and so focused on the final landing portion of their flight.
I think it's because of thr proximity to the capital and the pentagon too
I consistently fly into Boston and they have helicopters making visual transitions through the departure and approach ends all the time. It's just part of a busy class Bravo air space.
There was some people saying Congress passed something years ago changing heli flights to land there. Not sure how in depth it went.
Noise abatement procedures and restrictions against flying over DC. There is no one on the river who will complain about noisy helicopters over their house at night.
Also, if a helicopter crashed into the city, people would be asking why they don't fly over the river instead.
So, to keep people from complaining, air traffic is squeezed into narrow corridors near airports.
i dont think theres anything wrong with it, however through the grapevine i heard the helicopters are supposed to transisition @ like 2-300' not sure how true that is. would make sense though.
Thank you Hoover! My prayers go out to all the victims of this terrible tragedy and their families and friends.
This is the best coverage of what happened I have seen. Prayers for all of the families .
If you listen to all the audio on Victor's channel, the PAT pilot did also confirm visual the second time as well.
He probably was looking at the AAL3130 instead of the CRJ.
Best explanation I've heard yet.
I was waiting for this all day. Thank you for this!
As usual, thanks to Hoover for respectfully clarifying a tragic situation. Honestly, I waited to look into this disaster too much until you made a video because your explanations are always the most considered and empathetic to the victims and to the pilots. For anyone involved in aviation, these things chill us to the bone, and it hurts to think about the staggering loss of life. But a debrief done right is like an elixir to the pain; it kind of gives you a dark fuel to continue to go forward once you have learned from the 'mistakes' of others. Maybe this is just a pilot's mindset, but a debrief offers hope instead of blame. Mistakes are a human certainty, and aviation has a way of manifesting that certainty in grimly spectacular fashion. But again, there is the debrief. Debrief, adjust, improve, and continue on.
Thanks for the great debrief as always. God bless everyone affected by this disaster!
One thing to consider, the Blackhawk pilot may have looked at the AC taking off, not the one landing. Very sad say. Thank you for your professionalism in this video.
Thanks for your thoughts!
I was waiting for this.
Thanks for jumping in and doing this so early and so quickly I know you'll have more information to share but great job!