Investigators are working to understand how a military helicopter collided with a MHIRJ CRJ700 while the regional jet was following a routine sequencing clearance to an alternative runway at Washington National.
Pilots of the PSA Airlines aircraft accepted an air traffic control offer to land on the shorter runway 33 rather than continue to runway 1 – an offer which the preceding aircraft had not taken up – but mischance meant the jet was struck by the helicopter as it lined up for the approach.
The inquiry will seek to determine the extent to which the Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopter crew was aware of the CRJ’s position before the fatal accident.
Runway 1, the longest of National’s three runways, was being used for both arrivals and departures, and a few aircraft in the runway 1 approach sequence – heading north along the Potomac river – were offered runway 33 as an option to land.
After a JetBlue Airways Embraer 190 had been cleared to runway 1, the crew another PSA CRJ700 arriving from Montgomery as flight 5307 was asked if they could take runway 33.
“Unable,” the crew responded, according to air-ground communications archived by LiveATC.
This crew was subsequently cleared to land on runway 1 at around 20:42.
Some 30s later the pilots of the ill-fated flight 5342, arriving from Wichita and immediately trailing 5307, informed the tower that they were visual with runway 1.
“Can you take runway 33?” the tower controller responded. After about 20s the crew replied: “Yeah, we can do 33.”
In order to line up with runway 33 the CRJ700 had to deviate slightly to the right, breaking out of the runway 1 approach stream, just before reaching the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge which carries the Interstate 495 beltway over the Potomac.
The aircraft behind the CRJ, an American Airlines Airbus A319, was cleared to land on runway 1, while the CRJ’s deviation enabled another American aircraft, a Boeing 737, to use runway 1 for departure – the controller emphasising an “immediate take-off” and “no delay” to the crew.
Just as the 737 lifted off, the CRJ turned left to cross the Potomac and line up with runway 33, colliding with the Black Hawk at about 20:48.
“Tower, did you see that?” a transmission from an unknown aircraft remarked a few seconds later.
Meteorological data from National at the time indicate good visibility and clear conditions. Subsequent communications show the A319 and other aircraft were ordered to conduct missed approaches.
