Originally Posted by arlflyer;36857204[*
That being said, I do see how the error could have been made. 33 is not always used. It is often closed entirely, and was subject to extended construction projects over the past years. One could hear a reference to it and not process that reference. So, one could hear a call of traffic headed to 33 and, physically, still be thinking / looking for an approach to 1.[*]Because it is not helpful to name problems without offering up a solution, I do think that not running 33 at night would be a reasonable thing to consider, as it would remove an entire axis of complexity (literally, from a coordinate plane perspective) from the equation.[/list]Condolences to all involved.
33 is used basically every day of the week when north departures are in effect. CR7s and E170s/E175s are extremely common on that runway and during the period of DCA refurbishment of the runway complex, 33 was (after about 11 pm) the only runway that was open for use - for everything up to and including 737-800s.
Any heli squadron pilot at Fort Belvoir, Andrews, JBAB or even Quantico is quite familiar with the heli routes in and around the Potomac in DC.
My guess is this particular heli pilot screwed up and wound up killing 67 people in the process.
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