- Title: 'It just doesn't make sense': Aviation experts perplexed by DC plane crash
- Date: 30th January 2025
- Summary: LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, UNITED STATES (JANUARY 30, 2025) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) DANIEL BUBB, FORMER AIRLINE PILOT AND EXPERT ON COMMERCIAL AVIATION AND AIRPORT HISTORY IN THE AMERICAN WEST, SAYING: "It's very puzzling in that I believe there was one camera that caught the whole thing where it looked like the helicopter flew right into the back of the plane and they bot
- Embargoed: 13th February 2025 21:55
- Keywords: AIRPLANE CRASH AMERICAN AIRLINES AVIATION EXPERT COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT MILITARY AIRCRAFT WASHINGTON DC
- Location: LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, UNITED STATES / FREDERICK, MARYLAND, UNITED STATES
- City: LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, UNITED STATES / FREDERICK, MARYLAND, UNITED STATES
- Country: US
- Topics: Air Accidents,Disaster/Accidents,North America
- Reuters ID: LVA001763030012025RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Aviation experts were struggling on Thursday (January 30) to understand what went wrong after a U.S. Army helicopter collided with a passenger jet in near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night (January 29), with both aircraft plunging into the Potomac River.
Former airline pilot Daniel Bubb, who specializes in aviation and airport history, told Reuters it was difficult to comprehend how the helicopter pilot could not see the American Airlines jet during its final approach to the runway.
Jonathan Koziol, chief of staff of the Army's aviation directorate, told reporters that the instructor pilot, who was the designated pilot in command, had 1,000 flying hours while the other pilot had 500 hours. The third soldier was a crew chief, typically riding in the back of the helicopter.
In relation to training hours, another aviation expert, Mike Ginter, Senior Vice President at Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Air Safety Institute, said, "It's excellent training that the military pilots receive in all branches of the service. So I would probably encourage listeners not to, not to cast an assessment on 500 or 1000 hours of training."
Ginter added that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) would have access to a wealth of data to determine the cause, including radar images, cockpit recordings, and data recorders known as black boxes.
A dive team recovered one of the two data recorders from the American Airlines regional passenger's plane on Wednesday (January 29), CBS News reported.
Authorities have said there were no survivors of the crash and the cause is under investigation. The airport is located in Arlington, Virginia, across the river from Washington.
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