On the evening of January 29th, near the Potomac River in Washington, DC, the cold air was biting, and the ice on the river reflected the city’s lights. A Bombardier aircraft flying in from Kansas was about to land at Washington Reagan Airport when a crisis quietly approached. A U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was on the side of this plane, suddenly climbing in altitude from 200 feet to 300 feet, and then to 350 feet. In an instant, the two aircraft collided, and a massive fireball erupted in the sky. This was the most tragic air disaster in the United States in a decade, and it happened in the political hub of Washington, DC. How did this accident happen?
Many might wonder, where did this Black Hawk helicopter come from? If you live near Washington, DC, you might have noticed the sound of helicopters frequently on the Potomac River. The helicopter involved in the accident belonged to the U.S. Army’s 12th Aviation Regiment, stationed just 30 kilometers south of Washington, DC, at Fort Belvoir Air Base. This unit has a unique mission – to transport important White House members and other key personnel to safe areas in the event of a major government crisis or natural disaster. Hence, their Black Hawk helicopter has a distinctive appearance with a unique black and gold paint job, a gold top on the aircraft, and interior modifications.
In the Washington, DC area, there are many high-ranking officials responsible for transferring these important persons during times of war to secure locations like Camp David and other classified areas. While we know the U.S. President has Air Force One, which operates from Andrews Air Force Base in Southeast Washington, if the President and other officials need to fly on Air Force One, they also require the U.S. Army’s 12th Aviation Regiment helicopters to transport them.
At the time of the incident, the Black Hawk helicopter was conducting its annual safety test. Looking at the flight map, it’s revealed they were flying the Black Hawk helicopter from north to south over the Potomac River. Within less than a minute, the fatal air disaster occurred.
Let’s rewind three hours before the accident from the perspective of the passenger plane.
At 5:18 PM local time, Flight 5342 took off from Wichita, Kansas. The plane had three crew members and 64 passengers, including a group of figure skaters who had just participated in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Kansas, heading back home to the East Coast. Besides the young skaters, there was a pair of coaches, including a former Russian world champion. The flight was operated by a Bombardier CRJ regional jet manufactured in 2004, making it 20 years old.
After flying for over two hours, at 8:47 PM local time, the plane was approaching the Lincoln Memorial and the White House for landing.
Reagan Airport is located by the Potomac River and is a coveted location, featuring three runways, with the main one being Runway 1, over 7,000 feet long. Depending on the direction, it could be Runway 1 when landing from south to north and Runway 19 when landing from north to south. Runway 33, intersecting Runway 1, would be Runway 15 when landing from the northwest and Runway 33 from the southeast. The direct cause of the air disaster was the plane being instructed to land on Runway 33.
The airspace in the Washington, DC area is one of the busiest aviation hubs globally. I interviewed a friend who is a senior aviation expert in the U.S.
There are numerous no-fly zones over Washington, DC. Not just the White House and the Pentagon, even the Lincoln Memorial falls within restricted airspace. If a civilian aircraft inadvertently crosses the edge of a no-fly zone, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) would issue warnings and fines to the airline. Therefore, pilots flying near Reagan Airport need to be extra cautious. My friend mentioned guiding a pilot from Colorado to land at Reagan Airport, noting that despite the pilot’s years of experience, they were still nervous during the landing.
To add to the complexity, when landing from the south to the north at Reagan Airport, airlines are asked if they agree to land on Runway 33. If directed to land on Runway 33, the aircraft would need to make a turn in the air, adjust its heading to the northwest, and then descend. During this turn, the aircraft would tilt, causing objects underneath the aircraft’s right side to enter a blind spot. This means that as the Bombardier aircraft approached Reagan Airport for a left turn, the Black Hawk helicopter was precisely in the blind spot from the aircraft’s right side.
Moreover, the accident occurred at night with various ground lights flashing, making it almost impossible for the pilots to discern the Black Hawk helicopter below the aircraft. From the civilian aircraft’s perspective, everything was following air traffic control instructions, and the flight path seemed clear. As the Black Hawk helicopter approached the civilian plane, the pilots had almost no way to alter the outcome.
The real issue lies within the Black Hawk helicopter.
Looking at the map showing the flight path of helicopters near DC airports, it’s evident that there are meticulously planned but visually invisible flight paths in maritime and aviation navigation. In this particular map, to the east of Reagan Airport, there’s a blue track going from north to south, known as Route 1, the designated route for helicopters.
If the aircraft were to land along Runway 1, its path would run parallel to the helicopter route, ensuring no collision. However, if landing on Runway 33, the aircraft would cross the helicopter’s route from southeast to northwest. If both were flying at the same altitude, a collision would occur.
One might question whether this design flaw lay with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. The crossing of landing paths between aircraft and helicopters would inevitably lead to accidents. However, a detailed analysis shows that the FAA’s design was not at fault. Looking closely at the map, in the east section of Reagan Airport, the maximum flight altitude for helicopters is 200 feet.
It’s akin to a flyover bridge. Though two highways intersect when viewed from above, one road is above the other. If the aircraft lands above, and the helicopter flies below – abiding by the regulated rules – accidents should never happen.
According to the recorded radio conversations at the time of the accident, the Black Hawk helicopter received radio instructions from air traffic control. They were asked if they could visually see the plane, to which the Black Hawk pilot replied, “affirmative.” Subsequently, the air traffic controller instructed the Black Hawk to fly behind the aircraft – known as a “see and avoid” command, allowing the Black Hawk to continue flying, requiring visual flying, and avoiding the civilian plane. Yet, the Black Hawk took an unbelievable action.
One minute before the accident, at 8:47 PM, the Black Hawk helicopter was still at 200 feet in altitude. However, within less than a minute, it rapidly ascended to 300 feet and eventually collided with the plane at an altitude of 350 to 400 feet. Had the helicopter remained at 200 feet, it would have safely passed beneath the plane, and the accident could have been averted.
The most eerie aspect of this air disaster is why the Black Hawk helicopter suddenly increased its altitude and flew directly towards the civilian aircraft? There appear to be several potential reasons. Firstly, the helicopter might have misidentified the aircraft. Just minutes before the Bombardier plane was scheduled to land, another plane was landing on Runway 1 at Reagan Airport, directly in front of the Black Hawk helicopter, visible to the crew. The helicopter pilot may have mistaken this for the aircraft they needed to avoid, overlooking the Bombardier plane approaching from the side via Runway 33.
Secondly, given it was nighttime, the pilots would have been required to wear new infrared night vision goggles. Anyone who has worn various types of goggles may realize that these goggles can limit your field of view, creating blind spots that, coupled with the nighttime conditions, could have prevented the pilots from seeing the Bombardier plane approaching from the side.
A third reason might involve lack of experience on the pilots’ part, potentially leading to an operational mistake and misjudgment of the altitude difference between the two aircraft, resulting in the helicopter ascending in haste, ironically leading to the accident.
In conclusion, the Washington Air Disaster is defined by the Bombardier aircraft landing not on regular runways but on the side Runway 33, potentially conflicting with the helicopter’s path. Additionally, the Black Hawk helicopter, for an unknown reason, drastically increased altitude within 30 seconds, directly causing the accident. The investigation by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is crucial in understanding why the Black Hawk helicopter ascended suddenly in the 30-second timeframe, ultimately resulting in this tragic incident.