Breaking: midair collision over the Hudson
- Thread starter Flying Spaghetti Monster
- Start date
That's awful.
That's tragic. 
I want to know if the plane was flying too low, or if the helo was flying too high.
ed629
Rear Admiral
They were at the same altitude......
A
Amaris
Guest
Oh Dear God.
J.
J.
No, you see in the VFR corridor along the Hudson, the planes stay above a certain height and the helo's below, to prevent things like this from happening. The only way for them to be at the same would be for one to be too high or too low.
Oh gosh! This is so tragic and horrible
Sex, death, and scandal...
The "big three" for news ratings.
The "big three" for news ratings.
That's true yes but ... you're coming off as rather insensitive ...
Sorry. I was just commenting on that is why the news covered it all day.
I haven't studied helicopter regs in any depth, but there's nothing in the VFR rules for planes in class E airspace about minimum altitude (except the bottom of E typically at 1200).
There are recommended altitudes depending on magnetic heading which attempt to avoid difficulties with head-on collisions. But an overtake as this has been reported wouldn't be affected by that.
If it was an overtake, the Piper pilot was certainly at fault, having the more maneuverable craft and approaching from behind.
I'm writing this from JFK, as it happens.
That is unless the piper pilot could not see the helo because it was comming up underneeth his wings. Also, recommend altitudes would not be prudent in an operational environment like the helicopters. Recommended headings are for going from one place to another not sight-seeing such as the helicopter was.
I'd like to see what the Tracon oprator was seeing when this happened and at what altidue it happend at.
What is it that you find so funny?
A lot of aviation accidents are the result of multiple problems combining, so there might be issues with either or both pilot's procedures.
I've seen reports that the helicopter had taken off from a riverfront heliport just before the collision. With other people in the helicopter it may not have been possible thoroughly look for other air traffic until actually airborne and able to rotate the helicopter around.
Many fixed wing aircraft are notorious for limited visibility below and behind the aircraft. Things like the engine, wings and cockpit floor tend to be opaque. To allow for that, there are standard procedures for approaching, departing from and flying around airports. At certain points aircraft are supposed to briefly level off so that the wings don't obstruct the view. There are standard altitudes that should prevent an aircraft from being in an aircraft's blind spots. The normal procedures are sometimes overridden by a particular airport's approach, departure or arrival charts. The bound and loose-leaf volumes of these charts updated on a regular basis.
There are also terminal area charts for cities with heavy air traffic that might show corridors and advisory radio frequencies. Aircraft (fixed and rotary wing) are advised (but not required) use those advisory frequencies to announce their intentions to surrounding aircraft. Spaces resembling inverted wedding cakes are often reserved for arriving and departing commercial traffic under constant direction by air traffic controllers. These spaces extend to the ground for a few miles around many airports with scheduled passenger flights. Beyond a few miles general aviation traffic is typically allowed to move about as desired with the provision that the pilots maintain a constant lookout for nearby aircraft. There are often areas where this Visual Flight Rules (VFR) can fly uncontrolled withing a few thousand feet of the ground, but would require direction by a controller to climb into the busy airspace above them.
I've seen reports that the helicopter had taken off from a riverfront heliport just before the collision. With other people in the helicopter it may not have been possible thoroughly look for other air traffic until actually airborne and able to rotate the helicopter around.
Many fixed wing aircraft are notorious for limited visibility below and behind the aircraft. Things like the engine, wings and cockpit floor tend to be opaque. To allow for that, there are standard procedures for approaching, departing from and flying around airports. At certain points aircraft are supposed to briefly level off so that the wings don't obstruct the view. There are standard altitudes that should prevent an aircraft from being in an aircraft's blind spots. The normal procedures are sometimes overridden by a particular airport's approach, departure or arrival charts. The bound and loose-leaf volumes of these charts updated on a regular basis.
There are also terminal area charts for cities with heavy air traffic that might show corridors and advisory radio frequencies. Aircraft (fixed and rotary wing) are advised (but not required) use those advisory frequencies to announce their intentions to surrounding aircraft. Spaces resembling inverted wedding cakes are often reserved for arriving and departing commercial traffic under constant direction by air traffic controllers. These spaces extend to the ground for a few miles around many airports with scheduled passenger flights. Beyond a few miles general aviation traffic is typically allowed to move about as desired with the provision that the pilots maintain a constant lookout for nearby aircraft. There are often areas where this Visual Flight Rules (VFR) can fly uncontrolled withing a few thousand feet of the ground, but would require direction by a controller to climb into the busy airspace above them.
They have five bodies now. It seems highly unlikely that any of the nine people will be found alive.
I've read/heard it reported a few times that the sight seeing helo's were supposed to remain below a thousand feet.
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