Follow the live update of the fatal airplane crash in DC
According to a flight record, a preliminary internal report from the Federal Aviation Bureau, the clues that came out of the moment before the fatal clashes on Wednesday night between the Army helicopter and the American Airlines passenger plane It suggests that multiple layers of safety devices have failed. It explains this issue, such as the current and previous airline control officers.
The helicopter flew out of the approved flight route. The American Airlines pilot has not seen the helicopter nearby because he turned toward the runway. At the same time, the air traffic controller, who had juggled two employments, could not separate the helicopter and the plane.
A FAA spokeswoman said that the institution could not comment on the ongoing investigation. Crash investigators will spend the next few months on other people who are trying to find out what happened, such as flying data, recording from cockpit, weather patterns, and controllers to interview.
However, the catastrophe seemed to have already confirmed that pilots, air control officers, and safety experts had warned for years. Cultivating holes in the aviation system can lead to a collision of 67 people in the Potomac River in Washington.
Even before the official cause was decided, there were signs that the Reagan National Pilot and Air Commander were not operated under optimal conditions on Wednesday.
On Wednesday night, the obligation to handle Reagan National Helicopters and air control of airplanes was bonded before the fatal Crash drop. According to the person who explained the staffing and reports, it was left by the Air Control.
Usually, after 9:30 pm, when the traffic volume in Reagan began to decrease, one person processes helicopters and airplanes. However, the supervisor combined their duties before 9:30 and allowed one air traffic controller to leave. The crash occurred just before 9 pm
That night, there was no unusual factor that caused the controller’s distraction, but the staff stated that “the time and traffic were not normal.”
On Thursday, the controller of the tower said the five people and previous controllers It is necessary to give more aggressive helicopters and airplanes and instruct them to escape each other. Instead, the controller asked the helicopter to avoid the plane.
Some of the current and previous controllers stated that the darkness could make the pilot more accurately measured the distance between himself and other aircraft. Some were wondering if the helicopter pilot made another plane for an American jet machine.
Helicopters should be flying near the banks of the Potomax, and they were assumed that they would fall to the ground when crossing the space of busy Reagan people.
Before the helicopter enters the busy commercial area, you need to get the approval of an aviation controller. In this case, the pilot called for permission to use a specific route that helicopters can fly at a low altitude along the bank on the east side of Potomac.
The demanded route called Reagan National Route 4 has followed a specific path known for air control officers and helicopter pilots. The helicopter confirmed the visual visual acuity of the regional jet, and the aviation controller followed the helicopter and instructed him to fly behind the plane.
However, those who explained the problem that helicopters did not follow the intended route.
Rather, it was more than 200 feet, exceeding 300 feet, so when it collided with a commercial jet, it was at least half mile from the approved route.
The Senior Army officials have been warning that the helicopter black box recovers and analyzes it with other forensic data.
The officials who talked about anonymously for continuous investigations said that the Blackhawk pilot had previously flew this route and was allowed to fly near the airport and a tight air. He said he knew the corridor well.
Airlines’ safety has increased for many years, leading to an amazing pattern of close calls in the air and airports involved in commercial airlines. They have caused the frequent existence of military flights to increase the number of congestion in the most busy airports in Japan, including Reagan National, which makes traffic more complicated.
At the same time, many people were forced to work for 6 days and 10 hours due to the chronic shortage of air traffic controllers. It was very tired because several federal government agencies warned that they could hinder the ability to do the controller work appropriately. According to the 2023 Times survey, few facilities have sufficiently available air transport controllers. Some controllers say they have hardly improved since then.
The Reagan National Aerial Transportation Tower has been short of personnel for many years. According to the latest airline controlled government labor plan, which is an annual report to parliament, including the target level and the actual staffing level, the tower is below the targeted staff level, in September 2023. At the time, there were 19 completely certified controllers. The target set by the FAA and controller union is 30.
FAA’s spokesman stated on Thursday that Reagan National is currently using 25 certified controllers from 28 goals.
The controller who handled a helicopter near the airport on Wednesday night was instructing an airplane landing from the runway. The internal FAA report states that these jobs are usually assigned to two controllers instead of one. This increases the workload of the air control officer and the job is complicated.
The controller can also use a variety of wireless frequencies to communicate with airplanes and pilots flying helicopters. The controller is communicating between a helicopter and a jet pilot, but two pilots may not be able to hear each other.
When the Cassenger Jet pilot was approaching the airport, the FAA report was asked to land on another runway from an air traffic control. pilot. The request may have caused another complication shortly before the collision.
The American Airlines flight was originally cleared by the transportation control tower to land on the main runway at the airport called runway 1. Later, the controller asked the pilot to land on a different runway instead -the runway 33 -Pilot agreed to do so. 。
This decision is everyday when a jet in areas like American aviation is involved, according to those who have been explained about the case and the other four people who are familiar with airport airports. It happens. People also said that it might have been decided that the main runway would not be clogged to keep air traffic efficiently moving.
The runway 33 is short, and it is necessary to concentrate on the pilot because the plane lands the plane. A person who was briefed to the event was added to the FAA on Thursday morning on Thursday mornings on the Reagan National congestion.
At a press conference on Thursday, an American leader Robert Isom, a pilot, a passenger aircraft involved in CRASH, had been working at PSA Airlines for several years. The captain was hired by airline for almost six years, but the vice officer worked for almost two years.
“These were experienced pilots,” he said.
Nicholas Bogel-Burrooths has contributed to the report.
