Ari Schulman in The New Atlantis:
Shocking if not surprising investigations from the Wall Street Journal and ABC News find that pilots at Reagan National Airport, also known as DCA, had been formally warning the Federal Aviation Administration for more than three decades of nearly hitting military helicopters traversing the same corridor. Pilots who had faced this exact situation filed these reports to the FAA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System:
- In 2013: “I cannot imagine what business is so pressing that these helicopters are allowed to cross the path of airliners carrying hundreds of people! What would normally be alarming at any other airport in the country has become commonplace at DCA.”
- In 2006: “Why does the tower allow such nonsense by the military in such a critical area? This is a safety issue, and needs to be fixed.”
- In 1993: “This is an accident waiting to happen.”
- In 1991: “Here is an accident waiting to happen.”
An investigation by the Washington Post is even more damning. Using simple, publicly available information, the Post’s reporters quickly discovered what the FAA had missed or ignored: The helicopter flight path and the airplane landing path at their closest point have a vertical separation of just 15 feet.
More here.
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