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New data shows a passenger plane nearly collided with a helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington airport on the evening of January 28, a day before the PSA Airlines tragedy.
SheetWashington PostOn January 30, the US Department of Transportation released a recording of a telephone conversation at Ronald Reagan Washington Airport (KDCA) two days earlier, showing the situation in which a Republic Airways Embraer ER-J175 passenger plane nearly collided with a military helicopter while landing.
The incident occurred less than 24 hours before a PSA Airlines plane collided with a US Army UH-60 helicopter on the Potomac River as it prepared to land at KDCA, killing 67 people.
"We received an automatic warning of a possible collision with a helicopter below," a female voice on Republic Airways flight 4514 informed KDCA airport air traffic control on the evening of January 28.
The Republic Airways flight was preparing to land at Ronald Reagan Washington International Airport after a more than hour-long flight from Connecticut. As the plane approached Memorial Bridge, a male voice in the cockpit told air traffic control that they had to "abort the landing."
Data from airline activity trackerFlightAwareThe footage showed the Embraer making a sharp turn to the west with an unidentified plane directly underneath. The Republic Airways plane circled and landed safely about 11 minutes later.
A Republic Airways spokesman said the airline is reviewing the information and has no comment on the incident.
Ronald Reagan Washington Airport covers nearly 300 hectares, located near the Potomac River, across from downtown Washington and the US Army's Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling. Its convenience and proximity to Capitol Hill make it an attractive location for American politicians.
However, this location also poses challenges for pilots. Aircraft approaching the KDCA must follow a narrow corridor precisely to avoid the restricted airspace around the White House, the Pentagon and a series of nearby government buildings, which were established after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
KDCA is also one of the busiest airports in the United States. The airport was designed to handle 15 million passengers a year, but the actual number is often one and a half times that.
Landing at KDCA was a “unique experience,” due to the limited space and the inability to communicate directly with military aircraft because of different radio frequencies, seven US pilots toldReutersMany people admit that this airport is a nightmare for even skilled pilots, because of its narrow airspace, high number of flights and frequent helicopters.
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