A retired Military helicopter pilot shared insights into what might have precipitated Wednesday’s lethal mid-air collision over the Potomac River in Washington, DC — starting from visibility challenges to pilot error to a freak accident.
Talking to Fox Information’ “Fox and Buddies” Thursday, retired Lt. Col Darin Gaub, who flew Black Hawk helicopters just like the one concerned in Wednesday evening’s crash, mentioned “something is on the desk” on the subject of explaining the crash that claimed 67 lives.
“Why didn’t [the pilot] flip? Why didn’t [the pilot] even decelerate?” Gaub mentioned.
“One thing precipitated him to not see that plane … so I’d identical to to know is there a solution to the query of why they didn’t deviate from their flight course in any respect — pace or altitude.”
Earlier than the crash, the pilot acknowledged a message from air visitors management warning a couple of passenger airplane in its flight path.
Gaub recommended the helicopter pilot may need been wanting on the mistaken airplane and didn’t see American Airways Flight 5342 earlier than the collision.
The Pentagon confirmed Thursday that pilots within the doomed US Military UH-60 helicopter had been utilizing evening imaginative and prescient goggles to assist them see throughout the coaching flight.
Gaub mentioned the goggles assist pilots see at the hours of darkness, however prohibit the sight view “all the way down to about 40 levels” — which he mentioned might have probably restricted “a very good chunk” of visibility for the three-person crew.
“It’s a related level to know whether or not they went unaided — which is primary evening flying — or beneath night-vision goggles,” he mentioned.
He additionally identified that the Potomac River — from which our bodies are nonetheless being recovered — serves as a pure air hall which defines “precisely the place [pilots] are speculated to fly” — serving to them decide each altitude and course, Gaub mentioned.
Comply with the NYP’s protection of the lethal DC airplane collision
“In the event that they went too excessive, that’s a risk they might have run into an plane that approach,” he mentioned, emphasizing that it’s only a hypothetical and we don’t but know what occurred.
He largely dismissed the notion that the chopper carrying simply three crew members as an alternative of its full capability of 4 might have performed an element, noting that it’s “common” in coaching missions for a Black Hawk to make the most of a crew of three.
One other potential explanation for the obvious confusion on board the helicopter might have been the intense lights emanating from the bustling metropolis beneath.
“If you fly in an surroundings that’s so lit up with metropolis lights, and also you additionally then mix in plane lights, and plenty of plane flying, it will probably truly all type of mix collectively,” Gaub mentioned.
“At sure altitudes, you may even have a tough time differentiating between an plane with its lights on and automobiles on the streets and streetlights,” he added, recalling an incident whereas piloting a chopper in Korea the place he had a close to miss with a 747 as a result of he thought it was “automobiles on the road transferring.”
Frustratingly, Gaub mentioned because of their age, Black Hawk helicopters usually are not sometimes outfitted with “black field” flight recorders like can be present in industrial plane, which means ascertaining the definitive explanation for the crash will probably be “as much as exterior sources and witnesses to piece collectively.”
