WE get to know what’s on it because WE fly out of that damn airport all the time and WE live below it’s flight path so WE get to demand transparency and accurate information so we can trust that this won’t happen again. |
I can help but wonder what would have happened if the ATC had been a tad more explicit in his second communication: "PAT 25 you are on collision course with plane landing at runway 33". I'm not saying he was or should have been required to say this but I wonder if the ATCs at Reagan should NOT have placed so much trust in military helos given all the issues that have apparently been going on forever with near collisions and planes having to abort landing and them flying above 200. Maybe if they were not short staffed, the ATC might have said something more explicit. |
And obviously that poor man will ask himself that a million times until he dies. I pray he may find peace in his lifetime that he was not at fault. |
What is protocol? Had he broken protocol and crash still happened, he’d be roasted. Oh wait, he already has been. |
DH is a private pilot. The ATC’s instruction and comments are very standard - it sounds like what I’ve heard every time I’m with DH. Would’ve been great if ATC had been more specific or whatever, but I also think he’s just seeing it on radar. The planes also have automatic scanning to notify you of other planes around you. It sounds like in this case both the plane and the helicopter were both maneuvering at the same time so maybe their systems missed it. My guess is the helicopter didn’t let the ATC know what they were doing, unlike the AA plane which asked for and received approval to land. |
This is still the USA. As the so called “leader of the free world” we have always valued transparency and accountability and protection of our citizens. Under all administrations. All administrations have been held accountable for failures in security and disaster responses. Any statement that citizens are not actively involved and invested in ensuring this protection is asinine. We get that you feel emboldened and extra crazy but some things are part of all of our ability to have freedom and safety. |
Most seem to understand he is not at fault. “Visual separation” gives all responsibility to the BH. Twice. |
The family is withholding the name. They have a right to grieve without maga dragging their loved one for being a woman. They are likely scared based on what is happening right in front of our faces. |
Do you have any idea how many times a day a helicopter was flying in and out of the Naval Observatory over the past four years? I have lived around the corner for 30 years and have never experienced it as much as it flew while Kamala was in office. |
Not to mention the military works for the people. Their training, their equipment, is all tax funded |
If the helo flight data and voice recorder are “normal” (apart from the known path and altitude deviation) we may never actually know “why” this happened. There may not be evidence of the why. |
Scared of what? Words and perception? |
You’ve never seen loud angry people yelling at innocents in a scary, in-your-face way? Have you ever seen news footage of families entering a court room in a contentious case for example? Have you ever read about the way the Sandy Hook families were treated? Stop playing dumb. |
We all understand why the family is withholding the name (exhibit A all over this thread). We also understand that the army is saying that they are keeping the name quiet out of deference to the family's wishes. Some people think that the military has ulterior motives. I am not a conspiracy theorist but I tend to believe that the military does what is best for them. It may simply be that they are buying some time. |
I think they are withholding the name as a distraction. How many on the plane have not been named? About half…. |