CRJet AA si scontra con Black Hawk in addestramento in atterraggio a Washington DCA


Ieri è iniziata l'audizione da parte di NTSB sull'incidente, che durerà 3 giorni.
Nel primo giorno è stato reso pubblico un filmato che viene definito che il più chiaro finora visto riguardo la dinamica dell'incidente.
Davvero impressionante ciò che è emerso riguardo l'accuratezza dell'altimetro del Black Hawk: durante alcuni test è emerso che le altitudini indicate potevano divergere anche di 130ft rispetto al dato reale.

Ci aggiungiamo anche il fatto che i piloti indossavano i NVG: nel filmato qui sotto vi è un esempio di cosa si vede lateralmente indossandoli (fondamentalmente, nulla).

 
View from the right seat of PAT25 / View from the right seat of flight 5432



Overview Animation

Control Tower Visibility Study
 
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Terminata l'inchiesta e pubblicato il Rapporto Finale.


Probable Cause

The NTSB determines that the probable cause of this accident was the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) placement of a helicopter route in close proximity to a runway approach path; their failure to regularly review and evaluate helicopter routes and available data, and their failure to act on recommendations to mitigate the risk of a midair collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA); as well as the air traffic system’s overreliance on visual separation in order to promote efficient traffic flow without consideration for the limitations of the see-and-avoid concept.

Also causal was the lack of effective pilot-applied visual separation by the helicopter crew, which resulted in a midair collision. Additional causal factors were the tower team’s loss of situation awareness and degraded performance due to the high workload of the combined helicopter and local control positions and the absence of a risk assessment process to identify and mitigate real-time operational risk factors, which resulted in misprioritization of duties, inadequate traffic advisories, and the lack of safety alerts to both flight crews. Also causal was the Army’s failure to ensure pilots were aware of the effects of error tolerances on barometric altimeters in their helicopters, which resulted in the crew flying above the maximum published helicopter route altitude. Contributing factors include:
  • the limitations of the traffic awareness and collision alerting systems on both aircraft, which precluded effective alerting of the impending collision to the flight crews;
  • an unsustainable airport arrival rate, increasing traffic volume with a changing fleet mix, and airline scheduling practices at DCA, which regularly strained the DCA air traffic control tower workforce and degraded safety over time;
  • the Army’s lack of a fully implemented safety management system, which should have identified and addressed hazards associated with altitude exceedances on the Washington, DC, helicopter routes;
  • the FAA’s failure across multiple organizations to implement previous NTSB recommendations, including Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast In, and to follow and fully integrate its established safety management system, which should have led to several organizational and operational changes based on previously identified risks that were known to management; and
  • the absence of effective data sharing and analysis among the FAA, aircraft operators, and other relevant organizations.
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Nel suo tentativo di passare come legge, seguendo una fast track che richiede due terzi dei voti al Congresso, il cosiddetto ROTOR Act che vorrebbe imporre l'installazione (e l'uso) dell'ADS-B anche sui velivoli militari, lo scorso 24 febbbraio non è passato per un solo voto... ora ALPA si concentrerà nell'includere questo obbligo all'interno dell'iter legislativo dell'ALERT Act, una proposta (più ampia nella portata) nata sempre sulla scorta di questo incidente.


Press Release

ROTOR Act Fails in House, ALPA Says 67 Lives Demand Congress Finish the Job​

Feb 24, 2026

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Capt. Jason Ambrosi, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), issued the following statement today after the U.S. House of Representatives failed to pass the Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform (ROTOR) Act. The legislation would mandate the installation of Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast In (ADS-B In) equipment to provide integrated safety-enhancing capabilities.

“While today’s vote fell short, the strong bipartisan majority who voted in favor of the ROTOR Act today sent an unmistakable message that Congress knows what needs to be done. We thank every representative who stood with the families of PSA Flight 5342 and voted to mandate this lifesaving technology.

"Situational awareness is critical to preventing aviation accidents; it can save lives. This technology could have alerted the pilots of the imminent collision, giving them the time to avoid it. 59 seconds vs. 19. That's the difference the NTSB says ADS-B In could have made for PSA Flight 5342, saving 67 lives.

"ALPA's focus now shifts to working with House leaders to amend the ALERT Act to ensure that ADS-B In, integrated into the flight deck, is specifically mandated in its legislation. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommends that the FAA require all aircraft operating ADS-B Out to also be equipped with Cockpit Display of Traffic Information (CDTI) that is configured to provide audible alerting to the pilot or flight crew as a key to preventing future midair collisions. That is our mission, and we will not rest until ADS-B In is fully integrated into the flight deck of every airliner that takes to our skies.

“We look forward to working with both chambers to advance meaningful legislation that addresses the full scope of what the NTSB has called for. The families of those we lost deserve nothing less than complete action.”

Founded in 1931, ALPA is the largest airline pilot union in the world and represents more than 80,000 pilots at 42 U.S. and Canadian airlines. Visit ALPA.org or follow us on X @ALPAPilots.
 
Nel frattempo sentivo nelle news locali che il traffico di DCA era in flessione del 5% circa, IAD nello stesso periodo guadagna qualche punto percentuale (che non ricordo con esattezza).

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