DC Plane Crash: ATC Sent Two Alerts to Military Helicopter
Sam Lilley, the First Officer aboard the American Airlines plane Image credit X.com
Black Hawk Pilot Was Told Twice of Approaching American Airline: Report
By Amit Kumar
New Delhi, February 1: The pilot of the military helicopter was told twice of the approaching American airline, said a report. The Black Hawk military helicopter was mid-air as a part of training exercise, before it crashed into the airline.
Authorities have ruled out chances of any survivor in the crash. The airline and the helicopter went down into the frozen Potomac River at about 9 pm on January 9 after the crash.
Air traffic controllers twice alerted the crew of the military helicopter, said the Washington Post in a report on basis of radio records of the air traffic controller (ATC). The first alert was sent as early as two minutes before the crash, added the report.
The American daily took the help of the aviation experts to decode the radio messages. The daily claimed that one of the crew of the military helicopter responded, saying “visual separation”, which in the civil aviation communication is meant that distance will be maintained.
However, reports said that the military helicopter had been flying 100 plus feet above its designated height. Also, it had been flying too close to the approaching American airline with sixty-four passengers.
The last alert was sent to the crew of the military helicopter 12 seconds before the crash while the airline was approaching the Regan National Airport in Washington DC. The airline was flying from Kansas.
The civil aviation experts are stunned that the crew of the military helicopter did not heed to alerts of the ATC and changed the course. Earlier reports said that one of the crew had told the ATC that he had been able to sight an airline, which afterwards turned out to be not the ill-fated approaching American airline.
The Washington Post quoted the radio recording of the airport to state the reaction of an airport staff, saying: “Oh my, did you see that?” Another staffer was quoted, reacting: “I just saw a fireball, and then it was just gone.
The DC air crash has become a major debate in the US with President Donald Trump questioning the diversity recruitment. Reports also said that one air traffic controller was relieved by his supervisor ahead of the shift, and only one person was taking care of the air traffic involving planes and helicopters.
Join the WhatsApp Channel of The Raisina Hills
Follow on Google News https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMNK2vwsw39HWAw?hl=en-IN&gl=IN&ceid=IN%3Aen
About The Author
