Posts by user "21600HRS" [Posts: 5 Total up-votes: 0 Page: 1 of 1]¶

This procedure was not for sure designed so that the vertical separation is only separation, no, horizontal separation is supposed to be the way you do it. Separation is anyway based on visual avoidance in dark, not good! Anyway the HELO was zick zacking, not following the route 1 and 4, and did not maintain altitude, why was that?

30 seconds before the collision, when LC asked if they have traffic in sight, HELO was on track about 200\xb0, because of wind (320/25) HDG was somerhing like 215\xb0. Bearing to CRJ was 10 o’clock and to A319 about 11 o’clock. At this moment CRJ was flying track to North, base for rwy 33, and was not at all conflicting traffic from HELO’s point of view. Few seconds later HELO turned to the South, perhaps to avoid A319, soon after noticed that A319 will pass far ahead and turned back to right… so sad.

There is a problem in the system if you don\x92t react to CA. The visual avoidance should be aborted when the technically calculated separation is lost.

4) TCAS RAs on approach? you mean below 1000 ft ? No , in our scenario here , with the Blackhawk climbing , the logical RA would be a descent RA for the CRJ ,, you want a Descent RA at 300 ft ?

I think there is no problem for RA below 1000ft, it would only be like \x94TRAFFIC AHEAD, PULL UP\x94 in Airbus World. Horizontal separation might be smaller and system takes into account whether the traffic is between you and touch down. This DCA case is problematic because you join the final below 500ft, that is not acceptable in any case with an airliner.

TCAS 8 is getting closer and sooner after this horrific accident.

The Black Hawk crew had lost totally their situational awareness. If you are instructed to pass behind a traffic which is landing on rwy 33 how can you be on final rwy 33 before the traffic has passed you? Perhaps they noticed that they were approaching the final of rwy 33 and started a right hand climbing turn, but too late.
CRJ was possible behind the windsield frames in the first sight but anyway it was not conflicting traffic while it was on the base for rwy 33. Final turn at below 500ft doesn’t make it any easier for the helicopter to realize/react to the changing situation.

One thing came to my mind: was the PAT 25 avoiding the traffic by flying ahead of the CRJ instead behind it in first place? ”Pass behind” was told only 18 seconds before the impact.

This altitude discussion is totally irrelevant to the accident: \x94Do not cross final 33 before CRJ\x94 would perhaps have saved the day.