Posts by user "clearedtocross" [Posts: 6 Total up-votes: 10 Page: 1 of 1]¶

When and where I learned to fly (and on each new rating, refresher and check ride) we had to prove that we knew airspace classification. DCA is listed as class B airspace (and special rules on top).
That should apply worldwide, not just in EASA land.
It seems to be a US speciality that ATC can delegate the separation to aircrews (visually) and this at night! And how the hell can ATC separate vertically near the ground when mode S transponders report pressure altitude in steps of 100 feet only?
I dont know the rules of vertical separation by heart but its certainly not less than 500 feet for crossing paths. Is one last digit more or less a separation? This heli crew should have been told by ATC to hold until the aircraft(s) on final have safely passed. It's one of the benefits of a helicopter that it can hover.

Sorry fdr, I humbly disagree. While it is near impossible to stop a light heli manually like a Robinson R22 without proper ground reference, those big junks used for all-weather rescue operations all have hover-capable autopilots. Press the button and the thing holds position even in strong winds. I am sure a Blackhawk has this feature too. And hover og at sea level is not an issue here. And I am sure you should not be allowed to fly a heli at night if you cannot perform a reasonable 360 flown shy above transition speed. Another question is if you should be allowed to fly at 200 feet at night over a built up area. But that's another story. There are so many risks staring at you with these procedures it's a wonder an accident did not happen before.

Fully agreed on most of your post. But don't tell me a heli cannot be given a "hold at" , "hold short of" or "hold abeam" instruction, I've got it many times. That does not necessarily require a quick stop. And this before this ridiculous dive to a 200 feet low pass to underfly an active approach barely a 100 feet above. I wonder who invented this procedure and allowed it to be used concurrently with aircraft on finals. If anything is asking for troubles, this is it.

Agreed, it may not be normal, but it may have been necessary in this case!

According to CNN, the crash was waiting to happen.
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/30/u...nvs/index.html

Blancolirio says at his latest update that the helicopter should have been told to hold before crossing the approach patch of 33. My post saying the same was deleted. I dont know why our very senior pilot is adamant that an army crew in a combat ready chopper cannot stop. Me, just a lowly private R22 driver, had to perfom quick stops on my examination flight for the PL(H) licence and we were trained to avoid and/or get out of a possibly ensuing vortex ring state. If I could do it in this wobbly contraption of Robinsons, anybody else can, because I am not Top Gun.
We used this quite often when parachute jumpers crossed our approach path to the homebase (from above of course ). We could have done a 360 , but then we would have lost sight of our vertical traffic and a quick stop is more fun.
I my country we widely use a wonderful device called FLARM. It is sort of a pour man's TCAS, using a similar protocol as ADS-B but on a free to use frequency. Shows traffic of other live FLARMS and warns if a Mode-S transponders is approaching (using field strength) . It has another optional feature: a database of low strung cables, power lines and other obstructions our country is infested with. Guess what we had to do in a heli when this alarm went of? Indeed, a quick stop and then a good lookout for cables!

Your deleted post said nothing of the sort; it was “ Blow your nose and you might be 100 ft higher (or splash) in a powerful heli at 130kts” and nothing else.

Senior Pilot