On Wednesday, the city of Washington DC was the scene of a terrible air accident caused by a collision in mid-air between two aircraft.
The crash involved a Canadair RegionalJet CRJ-701ER airliner of American Eagle, the regional division of American Airlines, and a Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk military helicopter of Bravo Company, 12th Aviation Battalion of the US Army (as confirmed by the Army Aviation Brigade), based at Davidson Army Airfield in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, 14 miles (23 km) southwest of Washington. The accident occurred at around 21:00 local time on 29 January (03:00 UTC on 30 January).
The CRJ-701ER, callsign AA5342, serial number 10165, registered N709PS, and in service since September 2004, was flying from Wichita, Kansas to Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC, with 60 passengers and 4 crew. UH-60, callsign PAT25, was on a training flight from Davison and was carrying 3 crew. Unfortunately, there were no survivors.
The 12th Aviation Battalion is known as the "Gold Tops", to differentiate itself from the "White Tops" of the Marines' HMX-1 (which are in charge of presidential transport). The Battalion has five subordinate units: HHC (Headquarters) Company, Alpha Company "Vipers", Bravo Company "Black Sheep", Charlie Company "Con Air", and Delta Company "Dragons".
The original Bravo Company flew UH-1 Huey helicopters and was disbanded in 1998. The current Bravo Company was reactivated in October 2009 and equipped with Eurocopter UH-72 Lakota helicopters, the U.S. version of the EC145, in July 2010. The company currently flies UH-60 Black Hawks.
The Battalion is equipped with both UH-60 tactical transport helicopters and VH-60 VIP transport helicopters, as the unit's primary mission is to provide flights to high-ranking U.S. government officials. The PAT callsign stands for "Priority Air Transport."
There are conflicting reports about the model of the helicopter that crashed, but according to Thomas Novelly of Military.com, the US Department of Defense has confirmed that it was a UH-60. The UH-60s in this unit carry the typical dark olive-green color scheme of US Army helicopters. The VH-60Ms, dedicated to transporting VIPs, wear black and gold livery. The images of the helicopter broadcast by First Channel News (below these lines) correspond to the characteristics of a UH-60, since the remains do not show the characteristic decoration of the VH-60M.
Many people wonder what a military helicopter was doing on a training flight over an area like the Potomac River, with so many commercial flights approaching Reagan Airport, located along the river. The reason is that the VH-60Ms do much of their business in Washington DC, west of the river. The Potomac River is an authorized corridor for low helicopter flights in a city with many restricted airspaces. Thus, VH-60M crews must be trained to fly day and night in that area.
According to Military.com, the UH-60 crew were highly experienced pilots. The co-pilot had over 500 hours of flight time, while the instructor pilot supervising the co-pilot had around 1,000 hours of flight time. A few hours ago AiTelly published a complete analysis of what happened, pointing out the possible cause of the accident, a confusion that would have led the UH-60 pilot to confuse two commercial flights
---
Main photo: The Army Aviation Brigade. A UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter from the US Army's 12th Aviation Battalion, like the one that crashed in Washington DC.
Don't miss the news and content that interest you. Receive the free daily newsletter in your email: Click here to subscribe |
Opina sobre esta entrada: