Comments by "afcgeo" (@afcgeo882) on "Ex-Black Hawk helicopter pilot believes three things went wrong in plane collision" video.

@chrissmith7669 Video shows no sudden movement of any kind from the UH-60, as if they never saw it.
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@MotorBoating1413 You get that being a military pilot isn’t subject to “hiring” or “DEI” right?
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@nicobenji0248 It is the busiest runway in the US, not the busiest airspace in the world.
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This woman is a bit confused. The Blackhawk had the CRJ at its 11, then dead ahead, not 5 o’clock and thus an additional crew chief would have had zero benefit. Yes, the ATC should have been specific about the aircraft coming at them and its location, but in the end, the UH-60 crew failed to maintain visual contact with traffic, the altitude ceiling, and I believe it was too far west of where it should have been, which was at the edge of the river at Bolling.
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@ They’re all “over” the bridge. This is why standard phraseology exists in air traffic control! You aren’t just conversing! You need to relay ACTUALLY relevant info, quickly. That info is where it is relevant to the person you are speaking to, which direction it’s heading (in degrees) and its altitude.
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@ They were told the aircraft was at 1200 feet. The aircraft was actually significantly lower than that at that point. Aircraft behind it was likely at 1200’. Strobes from a plane are very easy to miss at 300’ in the middle of a city where everything is blinking.
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@jessforester4486 They train on the exact routes they are required to fly.
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@lahondafolk4334 Both were identified and both were male.
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@jebb125Actually, the very day prior to this there was a near-miss causing an airliner to go around because of a helo in its path. Nothing about this is safe.
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@ The funny thing is that 100 feet of separation isn’t allowed in civilian or military flying (unless it’s close formation flying, which requires special training and permissions). So there is a very clear understanding in both communities that it’s inherently dangerous enough not to make it routine, yet…
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@Theresonlyonetruth1 Honestly. that path needs to be moved west.
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@ I don’t know if ANY helicopters have TCAS as they’re too small to require it, but they have the transponders on them to set off the TCAS of the CRJ. However, those don’t work below 1000’ AGL or on aircraft that are flying below 350’ AGL.
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@ Tower called it out poorly by using the runway that the aircraft was approaching instead of where it is in relation to the helicopter. The standard is to say where it is to the pilot, the distance and altitude. At night you don’t have depth perception to that degree. You just see blinking lights and 1200 feet isn’t 300 feet, is it?
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@ No one is “trained” here. At this unit every pilot comes in with THOUSANDS of flight hours as they fly government VIPs. This was a training (as opposed to a combat) mission and they were doing their regular annual night hours. Every pilot has to do a certain number of daylight and night time hours to stay current. And every media outlet has said that one pilot is a woman. Her family has asked the Army to temporarily not name her, likely pending relatives’ notifications.
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@ I don’t think it was a check ride either. I was told it was regular night currency.
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@ I see no info on their hours anywhere on the internet. Don’t be so quick to trust what people say here.
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@lahondafolk4334 That’s where the White House, Capitol and Pentagon are and this unit’s job is to fly all of those people.
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@ This IS already on the other side of the river.
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@ What do you mean by “other direction”?
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@ With no problems? The test has determined that that was a lie! There have been countless incidents. Just no actual collisions.
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@zxyatiywariii8 No. The unit operates gold tops for VIP transport. They fly everyone from the POTUS down to generals/admirals and congress reos daily.
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@mach2056 You train where you fly.
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@ That’s fair… does it make sense to you?
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The aircraft was coming at them from 11 o’clock high. How can having an extra crew chief help?
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@raymort3 There were two other aircraft lined up for 33 behind the CRJ and they may have seen them.
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@ Where did you see that info?
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@ Yes, but none of the footage is from the helo’s perspective. They flew into its side, so the landing light wasn’t in their face and they would see the starboard strobe and top strobe only. Are you alluding that they flew into its side intentionally?
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You suggest they should fly through it instead because that was just attempted.
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@lahondafolk4334 The flight paths have been there for many decades… Since the 70’s I believe.
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@nicobenji0248 NO ONE here was a trainee. Both pilots on the UH-60 were seasoned pilots and were simply doing their annual night currency training. You are required to have a specific number of daytime and nighttime hours each year to maintain your currency.
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@garyszewc3339 What standards were lowered?
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@ I suspect a helo flying 100 feet under one would also stall.
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@ She was the junior pilot.
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@ The wash doesn’t go up, but blades will lose lift if they are subjected to the air disturbances of an airplane crossing just 100 feet above it.
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@ Helicopters navigate by sight, primarily. They usually follow either a clear road/highway or a river because those are easy landmarks to spot and follow. Those features also tend to avoid mountain peaks, which is good as helicopters don’t perform well at high elevations. So… look at the chart of current helicopter paths that are used in DC. They’re all over the internet now. Then open Google Maps and orient yourself around DCA. Find the Pentagon, White House, Congress, Edwards AFB, its home base at Fort Belvoir, and Marine Base Quantico. Those are the main places this unit and the Marine unit that does VIP transport fly between for their job. Once you see all that, you’ll start to get it.
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Not if that’s how they’re expected to fly to fulfill their daily mission.
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@sumterlb TCAS only works at 1000 feet or higher and both aircraft have it.
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@brettatton They were just doing nighttime currency. Don’t exaggerate.
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@ They have eyes. That’s all. These UH-60s don’t even have terrain-following systems that Air Force MH-60 Pavehawks have, not that it would have helped. What you’re referring to is called TCAS - traffic alert and collision avoidance system and because it works by radar, it doesn’t work below 1000 feet as it would pick up houses, cars, bridges… everything. At altitudes below 1000’ as a pilot you either fly visually or you fly by instruments and traffic control guidance. Under nice weather like they had, they flew visually, which is actually safer than by instruments.
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@ Training will NEVER be scrapped. You want MORE people to die? There are only two solutions: Move the helo path farther away from DCA or close down DCA.
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