[Air Traffic Control Audio Captures Chilling Moments Leading Up to DC Crash
An air traffic controller asked a helicopter if it had the commercial flight operated by PSA Airlines in sight, just before the two planes collided on a runway in Washington D.C.
“PAT 2-5 do you have the CRJ in sight?” the controller asked.
The helicopter pilot responded, “PAT 2-5 has aircraft in sight, request visual separation.” Less than 13 seconds later, the audio captured audible gasps, including a loud “oooh” in the background, at the moment of the crash.
Following the collision, the tower alerted another pilot to what had happened, saying, “I don’t know if you caught earlier what happened, but there was a collision on the approach end of 3-3. We are going to be shutting down operations for the indefinite future if you want to go back to the gate. Highly suggest you guys coordinate with the company. Let me know what you want to do.”
Another pilot confirmed the incident, saying, “Yeah, we were on short final, and we saw flares from the opposite side of the Potomac.”
An approach controller later reported, “Apparently both aircraft involved are in the river, a search and rescue will be ongoing.”
As a result of the incident, a number of other aircraft made plans to divert to other airports, and flights at DCA were halted.
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