Black Hawk helicopter pilot in AZ remarks on D.C. plane crash
PHOENIX - The midair crash in Washington D.C. is having ripple effects across the country, including the fear of flying.
What we know:
An American Airlines flight and Black Hawk helicopter collided above the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on the night of Wednesday, Jan. 29.
Local perspective:
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the nation, and there’s a military base with helicopters just miles away.
Nearly a dozen near misses have been in the headlines lately, and the feds just finished a study on the issue. The findings, according to an aviation attorney, were not if, but when, a midair collision would happen.
Dig deeper:
A Black Hawk helicopter came to the rescue last summer during massive flooding at Havasupai Falls. It launched from the Papago Park Military Reservation (PPMR) in Phoenix.
Col. Paul G. Harrell is a pilot and director of safety at PPMR.
"Your heart goes out to every one of those folks that’s involved," he said on Jan. 30.
He says the Black Hawks here are used in constant training, similar to the training the military crew in D.C. was doing. Sometimes, they take several flights a day.
Training, equipment and communication are key to successful training.
"When I take off from here, we’re talking to Sky Harbor and get a clearance to takeoff from here. We have established corridors throughout the Valley to ensure that we have separation from fixed-wing aircraft," Col. Harrell said.
The National Guard base is actually within the Sky Harbor flight area just less than four miles away. So, when one of the helicopters takes off from there, they’re not only communicating with military personnel, but with civilians at air traffic control.
PPMR and Sky Harbor are about five miles away from each other.
What they're saying:
"We now have gotten that collision that we knew was inevitable," said Mike Slack, a pilot and aviation attorney.
Slack is an aviation attorney based in Texas.
He says flying into Reagan National Airport is serious business for any pilot.
"The opportunity for two aircraft being at the same place at the same time is very high," Slack said.
Slack believes the NTSB investigation will include the mixing of military and civilian airspace, and better communications systems in the air and on the ground.
He hopes the findings will change things for the better, from D.C. to Sky Harbor and beyond.
What's next:
"I think you’ll see the NTSB be pretty aggressive and proactive on this because they have been hearing about the risk, and now it materialized," Slack said.
Col. Harrell says he will continue to trust getting on a plane to travel.
"I know personally what goes into making sure that civilian aircraft is safe. We’re safe, so I got no problem getting on an airplane and flying to DCA in a couple weeks," he said.
We are months, maybe even years away from a final report on this tragedy.
'I've done it 113 times'
Experts Give Perspective:
Experienced pilots say D.C. is one of the most controlled airspaces on earth, but it's also very congested. They shared what they know about flying that specific route and their experience with how the airport operates.
Brett Rustand is a former Black Hawk helicopter pilot who has flown the same route in D.C. He says the path is narrow.
Rustand says helicopters are separated from planes by altitude. The only exception is when a plane comes in to land, which is where Wednesday's crash happened.
Bob Mittelstaedt flew for 60 years and is all too familiar with Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
"When you landed on that runway, as I said, I looked it up, I've done it 113 times. When you landed on that runway, they often wanted you to expedite down the runway so you get past where the intersection was. Then, once you're past that intersection, they can release the plane that's waiting on the north runway to go that way without fear that it's going to run into you," Mittelstaedt said.
As for what went wrong, Mittelstaedt says it's too early to know for sure.
"There's probably been a series of mistakes made here. It's not any one thing, but it's the very small probability that some number of what look like insignificant actions or mistakes come together to cause a disaster," he said.
DC plane crash: Former U.S. Army Black Hawk pilot flew same path
Brett Rustand is a former U.S. Army Black Hawk pilot and he's talking with FOX 10 about the deadly crash between an American Airlines flight and a Black Hawk helicopter on Jan. 29. He shares his expertise as he's flown that same path where the crash took place.