doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com 7 duck hunters killed

I don't consider a CW2 to be a noncom. He was probably in the second seat.

So sad...

The lady in Question had 500 hours of flight time. She was the co pilot. Pilot had 1000 hours in a Blackhawk. I think they will find the pilot was was well over the mandated 200 foot ceiling

I think NVG use will be a big factor. I wore them in Kabul Afghanistan riding in the back of a MI8 helo flying threw the mountains with no navigation lights. You can pretty much see about 90 degrees. The pucker factor was real.

Could the night vision goggles have had anything to do with their being above the mandated altitude? Never worn them and totally unfair with the instrumentation in a Blackhawk.

I’m not familiar with the latest in night vision military equipment. That said, the goggles I have used would be impossible to wear in an urban environment at night, the lighting near a runway would leave you blinded, and stripping them off until you got into a lower light situation.

Best,
Ted

I had a PVS7 for a few years that I used to hunt hogs but when I got the thermal I sold it. But, I don't have a clue what BlackHawk crews wear. Certainly not a PVS7.

The altitude has nothing to do with it. Separation close in to the runway like that is not by altitude.

The helio was instructed to pass behind the RJ, and did not.

Military aircraft usually work UHF, civilian aircraft are on VHF. No idea how they do that at DCA, but there’s a possibility the RJ crew could not hear the transmissions of the helio. This does not help situational awareness for the aircrews.

Supposedly, the tower (local control) has a brightscope radar as well as windows on the tower cab.

Military pilots are generally very very good. But to fly through the final approach at a busy airport without making absolutely sure there’s nobody there?

Hard to understand.

It may become obvious that they did know "someone was there", but didn't take the proper evasive action. By the way, Ted, Warrant Officer is, or was, usually the rank of a helicopter pilot, at least before the Viet Nam conflict, during which anyone would take the seat when neccesary.

The initial report I read stated two noncoms were in the cabin with the Captain. You are correct, there were two pilots on board. And, a Warrant Officer does hold a commission.

Not that any of that appears to have helped in this case.

Best,
Ted

Yup, the initial report was incorrect. One Staff Sergeant, E6, one CW2, Warrant Officer, and one Captain, O3. The Staff Sergeant had some kind of title in that vehicle, indicating that he was somehow "in charge". I don't know how to explain that.