https://www.foxnews.com/us/reagan-n...icopter-collides-midair-american-airlines-jet How can you screw up this bad ?
Terribly ironic timing……..just yesterday passing that base I was watching a passenger plane coming in to Reagan and said in the car, “ damn that flight path looks fucked up with how close they pass over from that direction”, obviously not this incident but just hours before hand …….very sad for all. RIP
Reporters have overheard officials calling it a 'crime scene' at the site... I've always hated flying into Reagan... feelings like your landing on a carrier the way you come in over the river.
I flew in there once, and even warned by my friend who had done it regular. It was still a little off putting that major bank, and drop to get on the approach without violating air space limits.
I’ve never understood the need to treat it like a Kai Tak approach. It saves DC what? 2 minutes to scramble jets to intercept a rogue airplane? I’m surprised it hasn’t happened sooner.
Combine airspace restrictions with the Richie Rich people that live upriver and don’t want a 737 over their $20mm house every minute and it’s a scary deal.
Without the helis on the approach path it would be a cakewalk. I cant recall if I ever flew the CRJ into DCA. I know I did sim training for going in n out of there.
A report I read this morning says the Chopper confirmed having the RJ in sight prior to the collision. Dont know what those guys were doing in between that and hitting them. Maybe some airspace adjustments for the good will come out of this.
A lot of guys will reply with "traffic in sight" before actually seeing the traffic or while seeing the wrong airplane.
Landing on a 5200 foot long runway, from a circling approach is definitely not a “cake walk”, especially in strong wind, gusty conditions, however I’m sure that has nothing to do with this accident.
Really sad news DCA is a pain to fly into and out of. Last time I was in there was an actual FAA line check so they are aware of how silly it can be. helicopters around airports are a pet peeve of mine for several actual instances so this is especially frustrating
Maybe. If anything, VFR corridor will be updated and/or additional restrictions/requirements for VFR traffic and DCA controllers will be written.
"Routine" i think is a better word. The 700's arent runway hogs like the 200's and their 147 knot vref speed. One thing the plebs might not realize is the landing jet traffic is not responsible for providing visual separation with the heli thats the heli responsibility in these cases.
That sounds like shipping. A 1000' long container ship in a channel is responsible for staying in the channel and navigating safely. Everyone else on the water has the responsibility to stay the fuck out of the way. Yet small boats get run over by ships on occasion.
I get why pilots may not like it but what was your problem with it? I really liked the convenience as a passenger. Granted, it was in my backyard but still, I think it beats having to go to IAD from anywhere in DC.