Chesley B. Sullenberger III, the pilot who safely landed a passenger plane in the Hudson River in 2009, said the DC plane crash Wednesday night was caused by two factors though they are nothing technical and the aviation industry is now exceptionally safe. The descent was at night and over water and these two factors brought about the tragic crash that killed 64 people on board an American Airlines flight which collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter with three soldiers on board mid-air.
A few minutes before the jet was to land, air traffic controllers asked American Airlines Flight 5342 if it could land on a shorter runway, and the pilots agreed. Controllers cleared the jet to land and flight tracking sites showed the plane adjusted its approach to the new runway.
Less than 30 seconds before the crash, an air traffic controller asked a helicopter if it had the arriving plane in sight. The controller made another radio call to the helicopter moments later, saying “PAT 25 pass behind the CRJ” — apparently telling the copter to wait for the Bombardier CRJ-701 twin-engine jet to pass. There was no reply. Seconds after that, the aircraft collided.
Reagan Airport requires additional training for pilots who operate from it, Captain Sullenberger told the New York Times adding that the airport changed a lot in terms of technology but nighttime always makes things difficult.
“Nighttime always makes things different about seeing other aircraft — basically all you can do is see the lights on them,” Captain Sullenberger said. “You have to try to figure out: Are they above you or below you? Or how far away? Or which direction are they headed? Everything is harder at night,” he said.
Sullenberger added that he believed the ground lights over the water could have “made it a little bit harder to see,” but added he was speculating.
When Captain Sullenberger landed on the Hudson River in 2009 and all passengers were safe
The DC plane crash on Wednesday was the first in almost 16 years involving a commercial plane. In 2009, Captain Sullenberger landed an Airbus A320 in the Hudson river after the plane went down after a large flock of Canada geese knocked out both its engines shortly after take off. All 150 passengers and five crew members were rescued from the ice waters.
