We have all heard about the recent DC plane crash; the tragic accident that rocked the nation with fear and uncertainty in the new year of 2025. Sixty-seven lives were lost and so many more were affected by this horrible accident. It is unbelievable that this type of tragedy could take place in our nation’s capital and be caused by our country’s own military force. The accident took place between an American Airlines regional flight, and an army helicopter.
Although no one person is to blame for this collision, a combination of many issues led to the actual accident taking place. One of the main issues was that the army helicopter’s advanced surveillance and radar system had been switched off before the start of the flight.
The aircraft did have a transponder, which does show up on the radar system, but it is far less accurate and effective. There was no reason to have this turned off, as this was a flight which was flown in order to give an army pilot a night-flying certification. Because of this, it was completely unnecessary to turn the surveillance system off, and made the flight more dangerous than it should have been.
Another discrepancy with this crash is that the collision took place at a little over 300 feet in the air, while the specific standardized route that the army helicopter was supposed to be following does not allow the aircrafts to go above 200 feet. The pilots in the helicopter were clearly not following the rules set in place by the Federal Aviation Administration. This is obviously a huge issue because those rules are set in place to keep everybody safe, and to avoid tragedies like this one.
This was a horrible, sad accident which should never have happened, and hopefully will never happen again. All of the people affected are still reeling from the shock and grief that came with it, and so is the rest of the nation. One of the saddest parts of the whole thing is that it could have been completely avoided if both aircrafts involved had been following all of the correct safety precautions needed to make it home, safe and sound.
