From information on flightradar24’s article, the collision happened at around 300-400 ft. Those altitudes are too low for TCAS to issue alerts. The Black Hawk had a transponder broadcasting with mode S, so it would be visible to TCAS and the tower, but it was not broadcasting ADS-B, which would let you see it on most flight tracking websites.
The jet would have received an audible TCAS alert if this happened at a higher altitude.
Not only is it too low for things to work effectively but now you have city lights to contend with. It’s all too possibly the helicopter lost sight of the jet amidst all the lights.
There must have been a reason why the jet was told to switch runways. Was there another jet that could have been confused for that one? At night it’s tough to see distances and types of jet, so it’s possible the helicopter was looking at the wrong jet.
The jet was told to switch runways. They adjusted but were they where they were supposed to be? Airports have a complex layout of traffic patterns and controlled airspace. When it works well, traffic is nicely separated and predictable, but when everything changes it’s easy to not be where you’re supposed to be
TCAS is a transponder based system. Warnings are suppressed at low altitude by design, and city lights do not interfere with it.
Runways get changed all the time for many reasons. Every runway at washington national is in a different direction, it would be a different approach entirely and not a last minute change. There is no evidence that the plane flew the approach wrong. There is ADS-B data for the full flight. Anyone can check the plane’s actual flighpath.
Pilots can refuse ATC orders that are unsafe. The approach they were originally planning would have crossed the river and had the same risk of traffic.
The helicopter pilot seeing the wrong plane is a likely explanation. There were other planes in the area. The controller warned of the traffic. The pilot confirmed having the plane in sight.
From information on flightradar24’s article, the collision happened at around 300-400 ft. Those altitudes are too low for TCAS to issue alerts. The Black Hawk had a transponder broadcasting with mode S, so it would be visible to TCAS and the tower, but it was not broadcasting ADS-B, which would let you see it on most flight tracking websites.
The jet would have received an audible TCAS alert if this happened at a higher altitude.
Not only is it too low for things to work effectively but now you have city lights to contend with. It’s all too possibly the helicopter lost sight of the jet amidst all the lights.
There must have been a reason why the jet was told to switch runways. Was there another jet that could have been confused for that one? At night it’s tough to see distances and types of jet, so it’s possible the helicopter was looking at the wrong jet.
The jet was told to switch runways. They adjusted but were they where they were supposed to be? Airports have a complex layout of traffic patterns and controlled airspace. When it works well, traffic is nicely separated and predictable, but when everything changes it’s easy to not be where you’re supposed to be
TCAS is a transponder based system. Warnings are suppressed at low altitude by design, and city lights do not interfere with it.
Runways get changed all the time for many reasons. Every runway at washington national is in a different direction, it would be a different approach entirely and not a last minute change. There is no evidence that the plane flew the approach wrong. There is ADS-B data for the full flight. Anyone can check the plane’s actual flighpath.
Pilots can refuse ATC orders that are unsafe. The approach they were originally planning would have crossed the river and had the same risk of traffic.
The helicopter pilot seeing the wrong plane is a likely explanation. There were other planes in the area. The controller warned of the traffic. The pilot confirmed having the plane in sight.