The recent tragic crash between a passenger plane and a military aircraft has got many people asking how it could have happened. The Reagan National Airport is notoriously congested and has already had concerns raised over airspace safety.
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The airport at which the passenger jet collided with a military Black Hawk helicopter has been a cause for concern for some time. The Reagan National Airport is not only one of the busiest but also one of the most difficult to land at.
Speaking about the complexities of the airport, A CNN safety analyst stated, "There's military and commercial together. There are flight restrictions on where you can fly, what kind of approaches you have to make, and there are demands on how quickly those airplanes have to come in and out."
The plane crash, which involved a military helicopter and passenger jet, has left 64 people submerged in the Potomac River. Collisions like these should not be possible at well-run and organized airports. Consequently, it's raising a lot of questions about the safety of the Reagan National Airport.
Reagan National Airport Is Congested And Complicated
Experts have weighed in to give their professional observations of the Washinton DC plane crash. With so many different kinds of aircraft using the relatively small Reagan National Airport, there is often a chance wires can become crossed.
However, this being the case, there are a lot of safety procedures in place to prevent accidents like these happening. "It's very clear, looking at the flight paths of the aircraft and the radio transmissions, that the Black Hawk was asked to maintain visual separation from Flight 5342 for some reason. What caused the Black Hawk crew not to comply with the clearance they were provided?"
Visual separation is a method of maintaining a distance between aircraft that ensures they don't collide. This was not adhered to resulting in the tragedy that occurred at the Reagan National Airport.
Additionally, when military and commercial frequencies are different. When communicating with aircraft, there are different modes of communication. "You would have had the Black Hawk talking to the tower on one frequency," an expert pointed out. "And you would have had Flight 5342 talking to the tower on another frequency."
A barrier or breakdown in communication could be the cause of the tragic crash over the Reagan National Airport. Investigations are still underway. At this point, one of the black boxes from the passenger jet has been recovered.
