On one hand, absolutely there could and maybe should be changes especially in this specific locale. On the other hand, tons of smart people have worked out super efficient ways to handle complex airspace and heli routes like this have been flown millions upon millions of times in proximity to approach and departure corridors safely in VFR (and IFR) conditions over many decades. More data is of course needed to determine what, if anything, can be improved.
There’s also the whole “big sky” theory, and damn it’s super unlucky for two flying things to bonk each other (especially if they aren’t both going to the same spot) when you consider how much of the sky DOESN’T have an airplane in it.
DOGE caused the crash. Project 2025 caused the crash. Trump’s incredible incompetence caused the crash. This is what happens when you slash essential federal positions - people die.
it’s so rare but reality is with trump in charge things like air traffic controllers might not be a thing in some areas soon which is a problem for things that fly near each other. or airports close to one another
The people whose job it is to plan Democratic responses should already have thoughts about what to say when this happens again. It’s a mistake to wait until it actually occurs before you start planning.
it’s not only that, the whole production is something bannon and miller cooked up so that big daddy feels important. he sits at the big boy desk and SIGNS PAPERS because that’s what presidents do. Working hard, thank you!
I imagine at night it is difficult to tell the difference between 2 aircraft a mile or more away and could result in some confusion. It is unfortunate that the outcome is so horrible but as others have said, this is super rare. How do you know you’ve improved a process that has a failure every decade or so?
If the FAA works like other dangerous industries, which I’m assuming they do, they have a cascading system. Unsafe acts lead to near misses which leads to reportable incidents which lead to actual accidents. Accidents are the only thing the public hears about. But if the other things are happening more frequently, then that’s a sign you’re failing at safety.
It does. Every near miss or even serious breach of protocol is sent to the faa (or other national agency depending on the country). Aviation has one of the best safety and risk correction systems. It’s why it’s so incredibly safe to fly.
