DC Crash: No Miracle on the Hudson
Runway 33 night approach
There appears to be no survivors from last night’s midair collision between a Bombardier CRJ700 and a Sikorsky UH-60 near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport at about 9:00 PM EST.
The jet was on a northerly short final to runway 33 which is 5,204 feet long and ends near Gravelly Point not far from the Pentagon.
Flight Aware data shows the jet had already made the turn onto final and the runway threshold was straight ahead. Presumably the crew’s attention would have been focused either on the approaching runway or the monitoring of cockpit instruments.
The UH-60 appears to have been headed south or down-bound towards Davison Airfield in Virginia, following a standard path down the Washington Channel until it appears to make a brief sharp turn to the west before resuming a more southerly course. It then makes a more gentle southwesterly turn before impact.
My sailboat is docked at the Marina at the southern end of the airport and plane and helicopter spotting is a standard activity when out on the boat.
Military helicopter traffic is heavy and constant but always tracking on the eastern shoreline or farther east. I cannot recall seeing them over the river proper which would put them in conflict with aircraft arriving or departing from the airport.
Though helicopters are assigned a maximum safe altitude in the area, if they had strayed into a flight path the opportunity for collision would be obvious.
It will be interesting to learn the exact angle and heading of both aircraft at the moment of collision as well as whether or not collision avoidance systems were available.
Accident investigators always identify multiple factors in such incidents and that will be the case here.
They will examine the work and rest schedules, experience, training and medical records for both crews.
The operational status of the aircraft will be reviewed as well as adherence to procedures including maintaining standard flight paths and instructions.
Night operations offer special challenges and reinforce the need for vigorous situational awareness.
