The Aircraft-Aircraft Collision in Washington, DC, Happens at 16 Years After the Last Airline Collisions: An Investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board
On Thursday morning, President Donald Trump appeared to place the blame for a midair collision that killed 67 people on the previous administration’s approach to hiring aviation professionals. But experts and investigators involved with the crash, which also involved a military helicopter, say the next few weeks will see investigators pore over every element of the crash, and the moments leading up to it, to determine the causes.
The NTSB has promised to release more factual information Friday. The second day of an airplane disaster investigation is usually when the new information comes out. The NTSB says its initial preliminary report should be completed in 30 days.
On Wednesday evening, a US Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter collided with the tail of a Bombardier CRJ-700 jet coming in for landing at Washington, DC’s Ronald Reagan National Airport. No one survived the crash of the military helicopter and PSA Airlines airliners that were operated by American Airlines. It is the deadliest US commercial airline crash in 16 years.
Human Performance Report on the FAA Accident Investigation and Response to the President’s New White House ‘Rejection of Merit-Based Hiring’
Later on Thursday, the White House released a statement criticizing the Biden administration’s “rejection of merit-based hiring” at the FAA in favor of a hiring program that encouraged diversity. The FAA was ordered by Trump to review all of the hires and safety protocol changes made during the four year of the Biden administration, which may include firings.
The working groups will be made up of federal investigators and representatives from military, aircraft manufacturer, and aviation professionals who will concentrate on different elements of the flights.
An operations group will look into the history of the accident and the crew involved. Another group will focus on the body of the plane, looking at the crash sites to see if the aircraft deviated from its path before the collision. Another will look at the engines. They will look at onboard pneumatic, electrical, and electrical systems. A group will look specifically at the role of air traffic control, using recordings and sensor data to determine how professionals at National Airport reacted to the incident. One will look at the helicopter and the other will look at the first responders. Crew fatigue, workload,medication, equipment, and training are some of the things that a human performance group will focus on in several organizations.
There was also presidential finger-pointing Thursday about DEI policies at the FAA, questions about potential mistakes by the helicopter flight crew, and so on.
Other news outlets have focused on an apparent Federal Aviation Administration report that flagged “unusual staffing levels” at the DCA tower — noting controllers sometimes work two frequencies or cover two flight sectors. This is also not unusual — even at busy airports late in the evening when there are fewer flights. It isn’t ideal, but it isn’t dangerous.
An Explanation of the Jet–Motion Interaction During a Flight and Its Consequences on Arrival Time at DCA
A pilot can accept or reject the request. The flight crew accepted the change and were going toward runway 33 when they were hit by another plane.
For instance, there’s been discussion that the pilots of the regional jet were switched from one runway to another shortly before trying to land at DCA. This happens at busy airports all the time.
There’s a rhythm to slotting airplanes onto busy runways. Different planes fly at different approach speeds. A jet can be moving too fast or too slow and create an accordion effect. That’s when a flight controller will suggest an alternate runway to create a better sequence of arrivals.
In the past day we’ve learned information that helps our understanding of what happened and why. There’s been a lot of speculation about these operations.