311boogieman
Well-known member
This guy seems to know what he is talking about. What are your thoughts? The video I saw looked like the Black Hawk few into the Wichita flight? But it could have just been the angle. Seriously hoping this is just a freak accident.
"Derek Leger
Top contributor
DCA operates under some of the most tightly controlled airspace in the country. Potomac TRACON sequences every movement, and the SFRA and FRZ ensure nothing is flying untracked. A CRJ700 on final should never have a Black Hawk in its path. This wasn’t just an ATC mistake. It was a failure at multiple levels, civilian, military, or both. The CRJ700 was stabilized on the ILS for Runway 33, past the FAF, with ATC responsible for ensuring separation. At this altitude and speed, pilots aren’t scanning for unexpected traffic because they shouldn’t have to. If TCAS triggered, reaction time was minimal. Avoidance was likely impossible. The Black Hawk’s presence is the biggest question. This isn’t a student pilot busting airspace. This is a military aircraft operated by trained professionals. If it was VFR, someone authorized it. If IFR, ATC should have deconflicted it. Either way, it should not have been anywhere near that approach path.
What makes this stranger is the Black Hawk’s defensive systems. Even standard UH-60s are equipped with AN/APR-39 radar warning receivers and AN/AVR-2 laser detectors. Certain variants, including special operations models, use AN/AAR-57 Common Missile Warning Systems, which also detect approaching aircraft. If this was a classified variant, it could have been running AN/APR-52 or AN/AAQ-24 Nemesis DIRCM, designed for low-probability-of-detection operations. These systems should have provided the crew with ample warning of an incoming aircraft. If they didn’t, the Black Hawk’s defensive suite was either disabled, overwhelmed, or ignored. This wasn’t peak traffic. ATC wasn’t overwhelmed. If the Black Hawk was cleared, why wasn’t the CRJ rerouted? If it wasn’t, why wasn’t it identified and intercepted? Potomac TRACON has redundancies to prevent exactly this. Wonder who was on that CRJ700. Flights into DCA often carry government officials, defense contractors, and corporate executives."
"Derek Leger
Top contributor
DCA operates under some of the most tightly controlled airspace in the country. Potomac TRACON sequences every movement, and the SFRA and FRZ ensure nothing is flying untracked. A CRJ700 on final should never have a Black Hawk in its path. This wasn’t just an ATC mistake. It was a failure at multiple levels, civilian, military, or both. The CRJ700 was stabilized on the ILS for Runway 33, past the FAF, with ATC responsible for ensuring separation. At this altitude and speed, pilots aren’t scanning for unexpected traffic because they shouldn’t have to. If TCAS triggered, reaction time was minimal. Avoidance was likely impossible. The Black Hawk’s presence is the biggest question. This isn’t a student pilot busting airspace. This is a military aircraft operated by trained professionals. If it was VFR, someone authorized it. If IFR, ATC should have deconflicted it. Either way, it should not have been anywhere near that approach path.
What makes this stranger is the Black Hawk’s defensive systems. Even standard UH-60s are equipped with AN/APR-39 radar warning receivers and AN/AVR-2 laser detectors. Certain variants, including special operations models, use AN/AAR-57 Common Missile Warning Systems, which also detect approaching aircraft. If this was a classified variant, it could have been running AN/APR-52 or AN/AAQ-24 Nemesis DIRCM, designed for low-probability-of-detection operations. These systems should have provided the crew with ample warning of an incoming aircraft. If they didn’t, the Black Hawk’s defensive suite was either disabled, overwhelmed, or ignored. This wasn’t peak traffic. ATC wasn’t overwhelmed. If the Black Hawk was cleared, why wasn’t the CRJ rerouted? If it wasn’t, why wasn’t it identified and intercepted? Potomac TRACON has redundancies to prevent exactly this. Wonder who was on that CRJ700. Flights into DCA often carry government officials, defense contractors, and corporate executives."
