The tragic mid-air collision between a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines jet over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., raises many questions about what led to the disaster and how it could have been prevented.
Virginia Tech aerospace engineer Ella Atkins provided expert opinions based on the information available so far about the crash at Reagan National Airport.
What narrative appears to be established by air traffic control recordings?
“It is too soon to place primary blame on specific individuals. The chain of events appears to be that air traffic control requested the jet to reroute to a less busy runway. The jet acknowledged the rerouting and did a gentle and appropriate maneuver to change the runway approach. The Army Black Hawk helicopter requested to maintain visual separation from the jet, meaning the helicopter accepted responsibility for staying clear of the jet by visually monitoring its location — but they failed to do so,” Atkins said.
“In my opinion, the helicopter should not have requested visual separation. There is a question as to whether the air traffic controllers should have approved the request at night in such a complex visual environment, especially since the jet would have had limited maneuverability.”
The helicopter appears to have been conducting a training flight. Could that have factored into the crash?
“An inexperienced pilot has a much higher workload just managing the aircraft than does an experienced pilot. If this was a training flight, a more experienced pilot should also have been onboard as an instructor, but even experienced instructors will divide their attention between monitoring their student versus maintaining a high level of situational awareness, such as keeping a jet in constant view,” Atkins said.
How about issues with technology?
“At this time, there is no reason to believe there was a technology failure. Instead, it appears there was a chain of precursor events involving the primarily the Black Hawk crew and air traffic controllers,” Atkins said.
Could the intense wind have had anything to do with this?
“It is unlikely that wind was a factor in this accident. Neither the aircraft nor helicopter appeared to be significantly impacted by the winds, and neither crew reported equipment malfunction. Both vehicles appeared to be under control when the collision occurred,” Atkins said.
What questions does this information raise for you?
“Did the Black Hawk have collision avoidance (TCAS) capability, and if so, did it activate or not? Further, why did the Black Hawk crew believe they were able to clearly identify the jet in such a complex nighttime visual environment? What happened onboard the Black Hawk, especially with respect to workload, crew coordination and situational awareness? Could automatic collision avoidance and/or datalink technologies have prevented this horrific accident? If so, shouldn’t we seriously pursue both as replacements for error-prone voice-based communications and visual separation authorizations?” Atkins said.
About Atkins
Ella Atkins is head of the Kevin T. Crofton Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering at Virginia Tech and her research centers on the investigation of airspace and aircraft autonomy and safety. She is also a licensed private pilot.
Schedule an interview
Contact Margaret Ashburn in the media relations office at mkashburn@vt.edu or 540-529-0814.
