The Potomac Crash Was Entirely Avoidable

Danasia Elder did a fantastic job. I flew with her just a few weeks ago before she passed away in the terrible helicopter fall over the Potomac. She appeared to be joyful all the time. She clearly cared about delivering a top-notch work. Danasia wasn’t phoning it in. When you are on planes a bit, you notice the best trip servants, and Danasia was one of the best. &nbsp,

I also just flew with the captain, Jonathan Campos, and Ian Epstein, the various aircraft operator. I remember Ian because he was bit of a personality.

What makes me even more angry about the drama is my brief personal relationships with these beings, delightfully dedicated people who appeared to worry about their work.

We can be certain that the terrible airline accident, which occurred near to Reagan National Airport and painfully claimed the lives of 67 individuals, could have avoided. Why? A glaring flaw in the journey laws governing the restricted airspace around Washington, D. C., and the airports of the world’s funds allowed this to happen.

I’ll say that I’m not a captain. However, I have flown countless flights in and out of DCA, as it is known by its formal visit words. Furthermore, I have been a passenger into Washington from Virginia for more than two years. &nbsp,

I’ve seen a lot of aircraft entering and leaving DCA, as well as the regular helicopter visitors along the Potomac River.

The Army Black Hawk helicopter that collided with the American Airlines customer aircraft, according to what I know, should never have come very close to that airliner’s flight path, and it wouldn’t have been without that careless blunder in the specific trip regulations.

What am I talking about? The District of Columbia has a” Special Flight Rules Place,” which limits air traffic in the area and DCA. Within a 15-mile circle of the town and the airports, specific rules apply, which are even more restrictive. &nbsp,

Due to the flight restrictions and because DCA is such a smaller airport, all flights departing from DCA and getting on the longest airport there are made either from the north along the Virginia part of the Potomac or from the west along the Virginia side to avoid passing through D.C. and the limited flight place. &nbsp,

But what have I, and Washington travellers and citizens, witnessed for many years? Officers, television, and most importantly, military planes flying along the Potomac River, including flying prior DCA. &nbsp,

The valley is their own private plane bridge. The problem is, it is the last view route for airliners.

Helicopters shouldn’t be competing with passenger jets for aircraft, time.

The Pentagon, which is located north of DCA in Arlington County, also has a helicopter sheet. I have driven for years past the Pentagon. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen aircraft, including Black Hawks, taking off from the Pentagon and heading east—towards where? Daa and the Potomac.

No one is disputing the level of expertise of these planes. They fly advanced aircraft that are well-maintained, in constant communication with the buildings at Daa and the other nearby airports, and the FAA has designated pathways for them to use. &nbsp,

But the threat posed by state jet functions, so near to DCA, are simply not worth the rewards. It has to quit.

These flights ought to not be permitted, and Washington’s exclusive flight regulations ought to have been changed years ago. No one should fly along the Potomac River, whether it be a defense or not, without permission, unless it is a real emergency situation. &nbsp,

Fly lower over my home. Create an Embraer getting on 33 without aborting it. Don’t cause chaos, since happened even the day before the accident.

And so does aircraft taking off from Virginia, such as those from the Pentagon, be forced to travel through Virginia’s west and south before moving south or north until they pass the DCA’s incoming and outgoing flight paths. They are only permitted to cross south over the Potomac River into Maryland once they have crossed those journey lines.

The same goes for Maryland aircraft, which cannot be flown along the Potomac or the northern boundary of the District of Columbia while jets are moving in and out of DCA. The notion that this has been occurring for so much is shocking and hardly careless.

The Black Hawk aircraft would not have collided with American Flight 5342 if these regulations had been in place on January 29, 2025. Danasia might enhance my traveling on a different trip.

This change may be made quickly. The same order should be issued by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to all military aircraft operating in the urban D.C., including those at the Pentagon. Additionally, Metropolitan Police and different local government planes should be handled by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. &nbsp,

Choose travel over my house, not my journey way. There is not a single moment left to lose.

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