Washington DC Plane/Helicopter Collision

[ThatEllie]

Is anyone awake and following this, or anyone in the States? It looks horrific. A US military Blackhawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines plane and both went down into the Potomac River.

You can see helicopters circling like mad on FlightRadar. I really hope they’re finding people.

www.nytimes.com/live/2025/01/29/us/plane-crash-washington-dc

You'll have heard of wetsuits? Same principle, although it's likely more of a matter of length of time that hypothermia is delayed, but in that situation, every minute counts for those fortunate enough to be in an air pocket, or if they've managed to escape the helicopter - many people who travel in these are required to do 'escape training' where they're dunked in a pool and have to get out.

The Washington Post says no survivors have been found so far.

It was a poor joke aimed at a conspiracy theorist post

I’ve done the helicopter escape training. It’s one thing doing it in a well lit indoor pool in a dry suit from an intact helicopter body when you’re fit and well, and quite another thing doing it in last night’s conditions.

Why do some not learn from past speculations that they really don’t help?

This is still an ongoing recovery situation. How long until someone has to announce “online armchair detective theories are impacting the investigation”.

The families of those who have died deserve the truth, in a calm, accurate, informed manner. And that will take time and rational analysis from experts.

A plane and helicopter have crashed in Washington with few, if any, survivors, that’s all that is known.

Also following this.

Tragic.

YouTube channel Agenda Free TV is livestreaming coverage and the presenter is reasonably unbiased, gives commentary but doesn't seem to speculate too much.

Oh come on, I really doubt some lady on Mumsnet (me) is going to derail one of the biggest aeroplane investigation bodies, in the world with a team of experts.

I am speculating in my mind and lonely and I want to share my initial thoughts. This is Mumsnet not the NY Times. I’m allowed to waffle, it’s a forum & it’s my personal view.

Is there anywhere I can talk without being muzzled ?

If it was the 90’s I’d be talking this nonsense with my neighbour while I pour her a cuppa but I’m lonely and isolated and it’s 2024 so I am on here.

2025 😁

Training flight - I'm guessing that was the problem. It was not a fully trained pilot. Busy airport, late, limited visibility. What a tragedy.

I don't think they are looking to us to solve it here on MN! We like thousands of others online elsewhere are trying to understand a human disaster, because we are humans. It's hardly impeding any investigation.

Which flight was the suppossed "training flight" and what was the training involved?

Fully qualified pilots often do what could be called training flights and/or continuation training (especially in the military certainly back in the day).

That doesn't automaticallt mean they are not fully trained on type or for the airspace they are in.

have watched the video several times and it looks like the helicopter flew directly into the plane! Very odd.

Yes I'm a fan of Steve Lookner, he presents things in an unbiased manner.

Dh has done that training several times. He says it’s a tick box exercise, that if your helicopter goes down in water you’re not surviving it. Very unlikely anyway

The helicopter apparently. As you say, this doesn't mean it's not a qualified pilot.

It has been reported that the helipcopter was on a training flight.

They've now said that they've recovered 19 people(bodies)so far and that sadly they don't think there will be any survivors.

Bless all of them what's happened is absolutely horrendous and I hope that all of their families get the support that they'll need.

Following this with a lot of interest. I remember watching the 1994 World Championships as a child and wanting to skate like Evgenia. They've spelled her name differently in the reports but this is them:
So very sad.

Which could of course be irrelevant.

For example leaving base to head off to train/ retrain in whinching off in the countryside somewhre would be a training flight but have no relevance to a mid-air on departure., NVG training in the terminal area might be a different matter.

I believe both Shishkova and Naumov in that video (they were eventually married) were in that video. Their son Maxim had done well in the US national champs and had just been selected for the four continents championship. It’s not yet clear if he was on the flight as well. Thinking of all the families and passengers on board.

Which could of course be irrelevant.

You asked which aircraft was on a "training flight". I responded with that reported fact. It's not as if it is hard to find out that detail. Multiple news sources state it.

The U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter that collided with American Airlines Flight 5342 over the Potomac River was on a training flight at the time, according to Heather Chairez, spokesperson for Joint Task Force-National Capital Region.

"We can confirm that the aircraft involved in tonight’s incident was an Army UH-60 helicopter from Bravo Company, 12th Aviation Battalion, out of Davison Army Airfield, Fort Belvoir during a training flight."

We know someone that was on a helicopter that made an emergency landing at sea with everyone escaping safely, but that was a controlled landing and everyone was able to evacuate into life rafts (which you do in the training). It’s a different story if something catastrophic happens.

Fine, I'm going to join the speculation on two fronts.

1. I've read (on this highly reliable thread ) that the helicopter pilot had verbally confirmed to ATC that s/he had visual contact with the aircraft, but it's being surmised they might have been looking at a different aircraft. If the helicopter pilot was looking at an aircraft to their right and the aeroplane was coming from their left and descending, it's easy to imagine how they didn't see each other (remember that sightseeing crash in Queensland). How no systems alerted them is entirely another question

1. The Doomsday plane. Bringing it in to DC is probably standard when something big and unknown happens in case the president needs rapid evacuation, until more is known about the situation.

Yes, thank you for the extra detail. (FWIW I'm running between task so not fully up to speed on all that has been released.)

My comments about the significance or not of it being a training flight still applies. Training flight doesn't automatically equate to the situation being akin to somebody running around with low hours displaying learner plates.

@MaggieFS

How no systems alerted them is entirely another question

The mil aircraft may not have had TCAS and in any event certain TCAS alert modes may be automatically inhibited at very low altitude