He shouldn’t be speculating about the cause of the accident in any way, shape or form
Especially in a fucking press conference where his only role as president is to express condolences, assure that it’s being investigated and then turn the mic over to the actual experts with actual expertise
That’s what presidents do in these situations
He’s treating it like it’s a fucking social media post
~~~~~~
Listen to the terrible 'mistake' that caused DC plane crash, according to air traffic controller
An air traffic control veteran with 23 years' experience said the audio that emerged from the crash shows the operator's tragic mistake.
www.dailymail.co.uk
31 Jan 2025 ~~ By Rachel Bowman
An air traffic control veteran with 23 years of experience has revealed the mistake operators made in the moments leading up to the
deadly collision in Washington,
DC.
The
American Airlines jet with 64 people onboard
crashed with a US Army helicopter carrying three soldiers over the icy waters of the Potomac River Wednesday night, killing everyone.
The Black Hawk helicopter apparently
flew in the jet's path as it landed at Ronald Reagan National Airport.
Investigators working through the wreckage in the Potomac uncovered two black box flight recorders on Thursday night as they attempt to determine what went wrong.
An experienced air traffic controller told
DailyMail.com that the air traffic control (ATC) audio that emerged from the crash showed the operator's instructions to the helicopter were 'very ambiguous.'
In the nearly minute-and-a-half recording,
ATC operators can be heard asking the helicopter if the commercial flight is in sight.
Through muffled audio, more
commands and confirmations are made between ATC operators.
One air traffic controller said to the
helicopter pilot: 'PAT 2-5, do you have the CRJ in sight?'
Seconds later, the
controller spoke again, requesting: 'Pat 2-5 pass behind the CRJ.'
The veteran air traffic controller, who has worked in six different airports throughout the country, said that if those commands were the Black Hawk's first reference to the plane, the instructions were unclear.
'It would have been very ambiguous as far as, "Okay, what plane? Well, where am I looking?"' he said.
'Whenever you give directions to people, we use the 12 points on a clock. Let's say 12 o'clock is north. If I say, "Look to your nine o'clock" that would mean look to your left or to the west.
'So, if I had a helicopter that was coming into my airspace and I wanted him to see an airplane, I would say, "PAT 2-5 traffic, nine o'clock, three miles regional jet inbound to the airport."
He noted that air traffic controllers have a massive responsibility to give accurate and detailed information to pilots.
~Snip~
TC staff numbers at Reagan National Airport on Wednesday were 'not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic', and controllers were more overworked than usual, according to an internal preliminary Federal Aviation Administration safety report seen by the New York Times.
Reagan National has been understaffed for many years, with just 19 fully certified controllers as of September 2023 - well below the target of 30 - according to the most recent Air Traffic Controller Workforce Plan submitted to Congress.
Controllers frequently work 10 hours daily, six days a week, to fill the void.
The preliminary crash report detailed that the lack of staff meant the controller monitoring and directing helicopters near DCA was also instructing planes to land and depart on the runways.
Usually two controllers would handle these roles, as staff use two different radio frequencies to talk to planes and helicopter pilots.
While the controller is talking to them, the pilots of each aircraft may not be able hear each other.
Commentary:
So it was the error of the ATC at the control Tower not Pilot error that cause the crash.
I would say that, expecting someone to regularly work ten hour shifts in such an intense job requiring no margin for a single error or lapse in concentration, it is miraculous that these types of disasters aren't commonplace.
Additionally, the hiring of DEI over qualified people is wrong,
Will this investigation expose the number of DEI hires that jeopardize our air traffic and will the new director increase the number of openings and reduce the number hours employees are required to presently work?
rurtnews.com
