Alexandria has to keep closing areas because debris (and body parts) are washing up. Now it’s along Four Mile Run. The city has also made public pleas for people not to touch or take anything and to stop parking along the side of GW Parkway near Daingerfield. And they’re police patrolling the waterfront in OT.

It’s just so awful for everyone involved and it makes me so sad. You imagine if it had been you or your family involved. I wish I could do anything to take away these people’s pain.

I live in Alexandria and those helicopters fly over our house, my kids’ schools and their soccer practices (esp Limerick) very often for years.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm hoping someone who is knowledgable about aviation can answer this, but why did the helicopter pilot ask for visual clearance? In the audio you can hear the pilot asking for permission for visual clearance which was approved by the ATC, but why? What would it be beneficial to the pilot?

It’s standard. It’s nothing out of the ordinary. ATC just must approve.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ATC/s/f55jNolBC4

I also have a question for someone knowledgeable about aviation. A PP said that the pilot wouldn’t know if they were flying 150 ft above maximum elevation. If I’m flying in a relatively flat area with a maximum elevation is there no way to receive some kind of warning signal if the elevation is passed?

This. Do the people in the helicopter have no way to determine their altitude? Seems far-fetched.

Of course they have a way of knowing -- there are elevation gauges in the helicopter.

Though it's true that helicopters fly by sight much more than airplane pilots do (especially commercial jet pilots, who are going to be very focused on their instrument panel, especially during takeoff and landing). So a helicopter pilot might not be looking at their elevation on their instrument panel. But they can still estimate altitude by sight, looking at their position in relationship to the landscape (especially while flying down a waterway with land and trees rising on either side).

ATC can also alert a helicopter to their height if it is too high. In fact ATC at National regularly tell the helicopters they are too high and need to get back down below 200 ft.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm hoping someone who is knowledgable about aviation can answer this, but why did the helicopter pilot ask for visual clearance? In the audio you can hear the pilot asking for permission for visual clearance which was approved by the ATC, but why? What would it be beneficial to the pilot?

It’s standard. It’s nothing out of the ordinary. ATC just must approve.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ATC/s/f55jNolBC4

I also have a question for someone knowledgeable about aviation. A PP said that the pilot wouldn’t know if they were flying 150 ft above maximum elevation. If I’m flying in a relatively flat area with a maximum elevation is there no way to receive some kind of warning signal if the elevation is passed?

I would not trust the PP who said that. Especially for a pilot flying on a route they've flown before with a max elevation of 200ft, you would absolutely know you were 150 ft above that because it would place you in a very different position in relation to the water and the trees. Around National helicopter pilots are also accustomed to the plane traffic and know the trajectories the planes come in on and would be able to easily gauge their height based on their relationship to nearby planes, even without looking at instruments.

Perhaps a brand new pilot wouldn't know without looking directly at their elevation gauge or being told by ATC, but an experienced pilot would know within 50ft or so.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm hoping someone who is knowledgable about aviation can answer this, but why did the helicopter pilot ask for visual clearance? In the audio you can hear the pilot asking for permission for visual clearance which was approved by the ATC, but why? What would it be beneficial to the pilot?

It’s standard. It’s nothing out of the ordinary. ATC just must approve.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ATC/s/f55jNolBC4

I also have a question for someone knowledgeable about aviation. A PP said that the pilot wouldn’t know if they were flying 150 ft above maximum elevation. If I’m flying in a relatively flat area with a maximum elevation is there no way to receive some kind of warning signal if the elevation is passed?

This. Do the people in the helicopter have no way to determine their altitude? Seems far-fetched.

I can’t keep up with this thread. Do we know the name of the third member on helicopter? Why is it taking so long to identify him/her?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm hoping someone who is knowledgable about aviation can answer this, but why did the helicopter pilot ask for visual clearance? In the audio you can hear the pilot asking for permission for visual clearance which was approved by the ATC, but why? What would it be beneficial to the pilot?

It’s standard. It’s nothing out of the ordinary. ATC just must approve.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ATC/s/f55jNolBC4

I also have a question for someone knowledgeable about aviation. A PP said that the pilot wouldn’t know if they were flying 150 ft above maximum elevation. If I’m flying in a relatively flat area with a maximum elevation is there no way to receive some kind of warning signal if the elevation is passed?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm hoping someone who is knowledgable about aviation can answer this, but why did the helicopter pilot ask for visual clearance? In the audio you can hear the pilot asking for permission for visual clearance which was approved by the ATC, but why? What would it be beneficial to the pilot?

It’s standard. It’s nothing out of the ordinary. ATC just must approve.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ATC/s/f55jNolBC4

I understand that it's standard but I still don't get why the pilot wanted it in the first place.

It enables them to deviate from their set course without having to check with ATC for each small deviation, if it's done to "maintain visual separation."

If they don't get that permission, and they later see that they are too close to the plane, they then have to request permission from ATC to fly off course to maintain distance.

It's particularly common for helicopters which are more agile and also which, because flying at a lower height, more likely to encounter other obstacles they need to navigate around. Under ideal circumstances, giving the helicopter here visual separation is best for everyone because they are better position to know where to go to get around the plane coming in.

Obviously something about this situation was not ideal, though we don't know what yet. Either the helicopter had eyes on the wrong plane and was unaware of the location of the closer plane, or something went wrong with the helicopter that impacted their ability to maintain separation. The latter seems less likely because ATC hailed them a second time to confirm that they saw the plane and they again requested and were granted visual separation. This makes it more likely that they had eyes on the wrong plane. But we'll see -- the black boxes will provide info about exactly what happened in the helicopter before the crash, which could provide an explanation that doesn't fall into these two broad categories as well.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People don’t seem to understand the difference between a name being temporarily and permanently withheld. They said the release has been delayed. Not cancelled.

Won’t stop the conspiracies theorists from churning up crap.

Or the POTUS churning up crap at a televised press conference.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm hoping someone who is knowledgable about aviation can answer this, but why did the helicopter pilot ask for visual clearance? In the audio you can hear the pilot asking for permission for visual clearance which was approved by the ATC, but why? What would it be beneficial to the pilot?

It’s standard. It’s nothing out of the ordinary. ATC just must approve.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ATC/s/f55jNolBC4

I understand that it's standard but I still don't get why the pilot wanted it in the first place.

The helo was passing through DCA airspace. While DCA is operating, the stream of takeoffs and departures are nearly continuous. So in order to cut through, as the flight plan dictates, they fly around the incoming and outgoing plane traffic.

I want to know who the VIP was? If Trump is canceling private security for former government employees with credible threats against them, why are we risking civilian lives to ferry some blowhards across the river because they don’t want to sit in traffic. Given how defensive Trump was at his press conference I’m guessing that it was for a nonessential employee, friend or family member.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm hoping someone who is knowledgable about aviation can answer this, but why did the helicopter pilot ask for visual clearance? In the audio you can hear the pilot asking for permission for visual clearance which was approved by the ATC, but why? What would it be beneficial to the pilot?

It’s standard. It’s nothing out of the ordinary. ATC just must approve.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ATC/s/f55jNolBC4

I understand that it's standard but I still don't get why the pilot wanted it in the first place.

It gives him the control rather than ATC giving him commands. The helo is assuming responsibility. And its visual separation, not clearance.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm hoping someone who is knowledgable about aviation can answer this, but why did the helicopter pilot ask for visual clearance? In the audio you can hear the pilot asking for permission for visual clearance which was approved by the ATC, but why? What would it be beneficial to the pilot?

It’s standard. It’s nothing out of the ordinary. ATC just must approve.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ATC/s/f55jNolBC4

I understand that it's standard but I still don't get why the pilot wanted it in the first place.

It’s literally explained in the thread.
91.113(b) is a section of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Regulation 14 CFR Part 91 that covers right-of-way rules for aircraft. It includes the "See and Avoid" principle, which requires pilots to be aware of other aircraft and avoid them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With all of the local workers on here from Langley and Ft. Belvoir, I am surprised no one knows her name. The rumor mill has got to be blazing.

Her name is out there, but I won't share it. I think this is the wrong way to play this, personally. Hiding it implies Trump was right.

+1

I read on another forum that military personnel are not saying anything for fear that all their online communications are being monitored by this new Administration.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm hoping someone who is knowledgable about aviation can answer this, but why did the helicopter pilot ask for visual clearance? In the audio you can hear the pilot asking for permission for visual clearance which was approved by the ATC, but why? What would it be beneficial to the pilot?

It’s standard. It’s nothing out of the ordinary. ATC just must approve.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ATC/s/f55jNolBC4

I understand that it's standard but I still don't get why the pilot wanted it in the first place.

Anonymous wrote:I'm hoping someone who is knowledgable about aviation can answer this, but why did the helicopter pilot ask for visual clearance? In the audio you can hear the pilot asking for permission for visual clearance which was approved by the ATC, but why? What would it be beneficial to the pilot?

It’s standard. It’s nothing out of the ordinary. ATC just must approve.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ATC/s/f55jNolBC4