After the collision between an America Airlines airliner and a military helicopter, research suggests that the drama could have been avoided.
Did the air crash in Washington “have luck” to be avoided “, as Donald Trump understands? While rescue operations are still underway in the Potomac river which sprinkles Washington, research reveals disturbing circumstances.
The collision took place on the evening of Wednesday, January 29, shortly before 9 p.m. (local time). A flight from the regional company PSA Airlines, transporting 60 passengers and 4 staff members, struck a military helicopter before crashing and being reduced to crumbs. The device was then overwhelmed under the waters of the Potomac river.
In fifteen years, American commercial aviation had not known such a tragedy. Especially since the drama occurred near Ronald Reagan airport in Washington, a very developed area due to its important air traffic. “Air surveillance players know the corridors and air circuits,” said Xavier Tytelman, aeronautical and defense consultant, interviewed Dispatch.
An “amazing” collision
According to the revelations of the Pentagon, the three soldiers aboard the Black Hawk helicopter operated an ordinary “training flight” in one of the most strictly regulated spaces in the world. The controllers of the national airport control tower also tried to warn the soldiers just before they collided with the company 5342 of the company PSA Airlines.
“Pat 25, do you have the CRJ (Vol American Airlines) on your radar? Are you going well behind?”, Is it asked, unanswered. Suddenly, the words “Oh! Oh my God!” Resonate in the recordings while the two devices are colliding.
The last minutes, the plane was only “a few hundred feet from the ground” when the military helicopter cuts its trajectory, said Cnn. “It is a fairly astonishing collision in fact,” says Xavier Tytelman. We have an airline that is clearly defined and a military device which must be able to fit into dense traffic “.
Has the anti-collision system activated?
Another question mark: the anti -collision system. Since January 2001, the traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) has been compulsory on all line planes according to IVAO France. It activates when two devices have a convergent trajectory. He then provides alerts and instructions to pilots (take altitude or on the contrary to lose) to avoid dangerous situations. This device will constantly question the transponders on board in planes, and send radar signals, which will allow the altitude and position of each device to be known.
On February 24, 2024, the TCAS also made it possible to avoid a serious air disaster between an Airbus A350-900 of Ethiopian Airlines carrying out a flight between Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) in Dubai (United Arab Emirates) and a Boeing 787 From the Qatar Airways company connecting Doha to Entebbe in Uganda. The death of hundreds of passengers had thus been anticipated.
But helicopters are not necessarily equipped with this system. Especially since it is not always activated when the crew proceeds to mission flights, specifies Xavier Tytelman. “If the TCAS worked, perhaps it was too late and it (the Black Hawk) could no longer avoid it,” supposes Jean Serrat, aeronautical consultant at Bfmtv.
For the time being, research is continuing in “very cold and night” conditions according to the mayor of Washington, Muriel Bowser. In the absence of a survivor, this aviation crash could be the deadliest in the United States since September 11 attacks