Good points. The former Blackhawk crew chief was referring to past experience that doesn’t necessarily apply to this incident. I wasn’t aware PAT25 reported they saw the CRJ.

Although it’s still early increasingly it looks like VFR at low altititude *plus* PAT25’s altitude were factors.

But the helicopter reported seeing the CRJ. Indicating he was looking out for trtaffic. Did the pilot actually see it or just think he did.
“….who explained just how surprisingly difficult it is to spot other aircraft, especially at night, and especially around Washington DC where the area is awash in light(s).” That’s a big issue in this accident. VFR at low altitudes at night with a background of large large city lights is tricky.

At this point, the altitude of the helicopter (reported as 375 feet) is an important factor, as the assigned altitude was at or below 200 feet.

There are two ways of determining altitude in an aircraft. The barometric altimeter, which reads air pressure and must be properly set to the local barometric pressure in order to be accurate. The other is the radar altimeter which measures the height above the ground directly. Radar altimeters are especially useful when at low altitudes. Two questions must be answered.
1. Was the barometric altimeter properly set and operative?
2. Was the radar altimeter operative?
In other words, was the helicopter pilot at the worn g altitude because of instrument problems or was he just ignoring his altitude restriction. One is an equipment malfunction; the other is pilot error. Those questions need to be answered.

And I heard this morning that its coming out the chopper pilate was a Tranny and Trump is being vindicated.

My brother works for Delta and we routinely discuss incidents like this. It *is* too early to say who if anyone is at fault. However my first thought is why air traffic control allowed those two aircraft to be so close. Interestingly we know ATC told PAT25 to watch for and go “behind” the CRJ. Okay. But that right there is already a potential problem. When one aircraft has to “look out” for another (on landing approach) and needs to be careful to go “behind” the other that opens the door for error and disaster.

It’s like saying “you can go through the intersection (when the light is yellow or even red) just make sure you don’t hit the other cars”. Better not to go through the intersection at all (until the light is green and *other* vehicles don’t enter).

I saw a post by a guy who used to fly Blackhawks, was a crew chief and trained flight crews, who explained just how surprisingly difficult it is to spot other aircraft, especially at night, and especially around Washington DC where the area is awash in light(s). He explained what Blackhawk crews are supposed to do to watch out for obstacles. And admitted that sometimes everyone is looking at the gauges, and the person who’s supposed to be looking out the window isn’t.

People make mistakes. Which is why (and here I’m jumping the gun) I wonder how ATC allowed a situation where *if* someone made a mistake the result would be disastrous.

The FAA has faced pressure to diversify the air traffic control for generations, something that seems to have influenced even the scoring structure of the AT-SAT cognitive test used for pre-employment screening of air traffic control candidates. Leading up to 2014, that pressure intensified, with the National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees (NBCFAE) leading the push.

To start with, in 2000, a three-member task force, including NBCFAE member Mamie Mallory, wrote “A Business Case and Strategic Plan to Address Under-Representation of Minorities, Women, and People with Targeted Disabilities,” recommending, per the lawsuit, a workplace cultural audit, diversity “hiring targets” for each year, and “allowing RNO- [Race and National Origin] and gender-conscious hiring.” They were advised by Dr. Herbert Wong, who helped the NBCFAE analyze FAA diversity data in 2009. Wong authored a report concluding that the FAA was “the least diverse agency within the executive branch of the federal government.” Mallory and Wong were consulted as part of the 2014 test replacement process.

Article too long

https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/31/us/video/american-airline-plane-crash-washington-exclusive-video-ldn-digvid

I guess I am getting ahead of the facts here, but wow, seems like a combination of ATC and helo crew error. Blackbox from the CRJ recovered, but I doubt it will help establish the cause.