According to a study published by The fresh York Times, Captain Rebecca Lobach, a military chopper pilot, ignored key instructions just before she collided with passenger Bombardier CRJ-700. Lobach was performing an yearly aeronautical skill assessment at the time, and her teacher was Chief Warrant Officer 2 (older Staff Ensign) Andrew Loyd Eaves.
When air traffic controllers warned soldiers about the presence of a passenger aircraft nearby, the chopper crew requested to proceed the flight at a "visual separation" – a standard procedure consisting of independent collision avoidance.
"Black Hawk was 15 seconds distant from crossing course with plane. Warrant Officer Eaves then addressed Captain Lobach. He said traffic control wanted them to turn left towards the east bank of the river. A left turn would increase the distance between the chopper and Flight 5342 heading for runway 33. But she did not turn." – she reveals "NYT" fragments of the report.
Passenger plane crash in the USA
On January 29th evening local passenger time Bombardier CRJ-700 and military UH-60 Black Hawk collided just outside the runway of Arlington Airport (near Washington). 67 people were killed in the accident from both machines, including Polka and her 12-year-old daughter, a talented figure skater.
A 5342 American Eagle aircraft launched from Wichita, Kansas and was approaching landing. The data showed that it had lowered at about 400 feet and flew at 140 miles per hr erstwhile it abruptly lost altitude over the Potomak River. Many athletes and their trainers were on board the aircraft. At the end of January, global figure skating competitions were held in the US.
Shortly before the tragedy, the controllers asked the crew to land on a shorter runway – the pilots agreed. The Black Hawk chopper was ordered to fly behind the plane, but the collision occurred only a fewer seconds later.
What's next? US authorities are making changes
The disaster immediately sparked immense controversy around air traffic control procedures in the US. Transport Secretary Sean Duffy announced reforms, including the introduction of modern monitoring systems to identify "inflammable points", where the hazard of collision is greatest.
"We are dealing with situations of close collision. If we don't change anything, we'll lose more lives. We focus on security," Duffy noted.
Data from the U.S. National Transportation safety Council (NTSB) show that at Ronald Reagan National Airport there had previously been "85 close air meetings", where the distance between the machines was little than 200 feet vertically (61 metres) and 1500 feet horizontal (457 metres).
