Breaking Plane Crash

[Theatreboy]

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cy7kxx74yxlt

Not much yet.

An American Airlines passenger flight has collided with a Black Hawk helicopter. 

That is about all for now.

[Theatreboy]

https://x.com/BNONews/status/18847910408...er=BNONews

Video of the collision.

4 survivors so far.

[Ksihkehe]

I'm sort of surprised there were any survivors.

It's going to be interesting to hear what the explanation given ends up being.

I understand there was training going on, but I don't understand why it would be happening at this location which is obviously an approach to the airport. From what I have gathered this wasn't very far and first responders were at the end of the tarmac for search and rescue.

[Theatreboy]

that seems to be wrong, with no survivors.

I wish original reports of 4 survivors was true.

[Nugget]

Scanner traffic reported liferafts in the water from the helo, which seems odd?

The Blackhawk was supposedly a special 'gold' one sued for transporting top military and government brass, so it seems odd to be that it would be used to 'train' personnel-especially at night. Who's teach a kid to drive in a Rolls-Royce?

The plane is in 8 feet of water; reports say passenger seats would have been above the water surface, but viewing the video I'm surprised there was anything identifiable left of the plane after that explosion.

This has all the earmarks of another MH370, sans the missing plane. It will be interesting watch it play out.

[FCD]

There's only one approach into DCA (Reagan), and this is down the Potomac.  The approach has aircraft literally flying down the Potomac river for about 10 miles before landing.  This approach was implemented after 9-11 in order to keep all commercial air traffic above the water prior to landing.  Said a different way, it was implemented so no aircraft could fly over the top of (and potentially "into") any occupied buildings in the surrounding area.

This is important because the Army helicopter was flying in almost the opposite direction directly in the final approach path.  Why there isn't a complete prohibition for ANY sort of flights in this final approach path, the only one available, is just incomprehensible, military or otherwise.  The only aircraft which should be allowed inside this narrow corridor should be aircraft which are landing at DCA, and that's it, nothing else.

This tragedy did NOT need to happen!

SMDH!

Edit - The other notable thing about this incident is the fact that the helo crew was operating with night vision equipment. And, while NV equipment has improved dramatically in recent years, it still leaves much to be desired in terms of peripheral vision. From all the reports I've seen, and video of the respective flight paths, it looks like the CRJ was approaching the helicopter from about the 3 o'clock direction (maybe more like 2:30). This would have put the CRJ right in the blind spot for night vision gear. This might explain why the helo pilot did not see the approaching CRJ.

[Nugget]

I was reading this morning that there were only 14 figure skaters on the plane that crashed; from the way MSM is reporting it sounded like the entire plane was being occupied by a figure skating group.

I wonder who the other passengers on the minifest are?

Loved your knowledgable input, FCD! ( Even if I can't get a C.T. out of it....lol)

[Theatreboy]

@Nugget, it is my understanding that there were Russian Figure skaters onboard, also.

However, I am hesitant to post that after being wrong about 4 survivors.

[Nugget]

@Nugget, it is my understanding that there were Russian Figure skaters onboard, also.

However, I am hesitant to post that after being wrong about 4 survivors.

Yes, the news is reporting that; what I was refering to is the way they make it sound like ALL of the passengers were a group of figure skaters.

14 or so out of 60 leaves a lot of questions about the rest of the passengers onboard....flying into DC.

[Nugget]

I don't have  very good grasp on thechnology, but found this kind of interesting....

DARPA Taps Sikorsky to Add Autonomy to U.S. Army-Owned Black Hawk Helicopter
WASHINGTON, Oct. 14, 2024 – Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, has received a $6 million award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to install the company’s ALIAS/MATRIX™ flight autonomy system onto the U.S. Army’s experimental fly-by-wire UH-60M Black Hawk® helicopter. Designated MX, the upgraded aircraft will enable the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) to test and evaluate a wide range of autonomy capabilities, from single pilot operation to fully uninhabited flight.

“Autonomy-enabled aircraft will reduce pilot workload, dramatically improve flight safety, and give battle commanders the flexibility to perform complex missions in contested and congested battlespace, day or night in all weather conditions,” said Rich Benton, Sikorsky vice president and general manager. “Soldiers will rely on Black Hawk helicopters into the 2070s, and modernizing the aircraft today will pay dividends for decades across Army Aviation’s current and future aircraft.”

In July 2024, Sikorsky and DARPA demonstrated to U.S. military service personnel and senior Department of Defense officials how the Optionally Piloted Black Hawk helicopter can easily be flown and controlled by an operator in the cabin, or on the ground by entering high level mission goals via a tablet.

Not sying they were testing such tech, but knowing this is the future of things doesn't give ne a warm, fuzzy feeling.

https://news.lockheedmartin.com/2024-10-...Helicopter


Let's see if I can do this right...it's a videon taken three months ago tesiting the autonomous flight capabilities 300 mile from DC.

Nope; I'll try again.