- A jet of passengers collided with a Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan airport on Wednesday, January 29.
- The collision may have taken place due to the limited visibility and the use of night vision glasses, explains the former driver Mark Stephens.
- He reminds nervous passengers that flying on a plane is even more statistically than a car.
This trial also filed is based on a conversation with Mark Stephens, a retired pilot of Delta Air Lines, aged 68, who ended his career as a captain of Airbus A350 in November 2021. He was edited for length and clarity.
I was Delta pilot for 30 years and landed at Reagan Washington National Airport several times throughout my career.
There are two airports on the east coast that I consider particularly dangerous: Laguardia and Reagan. Due to heavy air traffic, the two airports manage takeoff and landings on the slopes that cross at very high speeds. These are incredibly close neighborhoods.
A suggestion that I have for safety is to limit the size of flying aircraft. The American Airlines flight was small – about 60 seats – which is much more difficult to see than a larger plane like an Airbus A320.
They could demand that the planes flying to be older and having less, but this is unlikely because it would reduce the number of places that the treble can fly.
Here’s what I may think about DCA
What may have taken place on January 29 when a passenger jet collided with a Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan is that none of the planes saw the other.
In a situation of visual flight rules (VFR), a set of regulations governing how the pilots should operate under clear weather conditions, the Black Hawk could be as close as a few hundred feet of commercial aircraft. The air traffic controller would have highlighted the passenger plane to the helicopter, which the pilot said: “Roger, we will maintain visual separation.”
At close range, the pilot in the helicopter with night vision glasses may not see the other plane because the glasses shrink your field. In addition, at night, the perception of depth and your peripherals are reduced. I don’t think the helicopter pilot has ever seen the plane they hit.
Another possibility is that the traffic avoidance system (TCAS) is not entirely effective below 700 feet, the approximate altitude of the accident
TCAS is a vital tool, and it saved me once. It prevents pilots with possible collisions and gives automated instructions to avoid accidents.
Once, I piloted a Delta commercial plane in Atlanta at 16,000 feet, and another plane, controlled by a civilian pilot, was approaching. I piloted this departure on the course, at altitude, and we obtained a TCAS alert.
The other pilot descended at altitude. I had seen it above me earlier but I couldn’t see it anymore. The VSI, or vertical speed indicator, gives you a small green beach where you need to lower the plane to avoid hitting the other plan. Just at the last minute, my TCAS asked me to go down 2,500 feet per minute.
Because he went down to us, we had to go below him. We pushed it aggressively so that the plane flies in 2,500 feet per minute and reached the negative G force, so that the on -board agents were in the air until I come back to a positive G force .
To this last second, I looked up and saw him pass. We could have crashed if the TCAS system had not worked. It saved my life by leaving Atlanta and everyone on this plane.
I don’t think the collision on Wednesday was a TCAS failure, however. TCAS does not provide low -altitude solutions, as planes land for security reasons.
I retired in November 2021
I hate saying it, but changes in the procedures of line planes and helicopters occur after the participation of blood. For example, after September 11, the cockpits were locked with bullet-proof doors so that the air hackers cannot requisition the plane.
I expect that afterwards, the military will not allow night vision glasses in commercial airports within five miles.
For those who are afraid to fly, I told nervous passengers that if they drive in a car, they are so much safer statistically on a plane because cars kill many more people.
