A Catastrophe That Shouldn't Have Happened: Controller Communications Released

Transcripts of the communication between the air traffic controller and the helicopter crew before the collision with the plane in Washington have been released. Thirty seconds before the accident, the controller asked if they could see the passenger aircraft, but there was no response—only the pilots' heavy breathing could be heard, reports NewsBox.

In the US, recordings have been made public of the conversation between the air traffic controller and the crew of a UH-60 Blackhawk military helicopter that collided with a Bombardier CRJ700 passenger plane in the skies over Washington. Thirty seconds before the crash, the controller asked the helicopter crew if they could see the plane, but received no reply—the only sounds were the pilots' breaths.

Shortly before the incident, air traffic controllers suggested that Bombardier 701 make a landing on a shorter runway (Runway 33) at Reagan Airport, and the crew agreed. The controller granted permission, and the liner proceeded with its descent, but soon its path intersected with that of the helicopter, which was on a training flight.

President Donald Trump criticized the actions of the controllers:

The plane was on a perfect and usual landing approach to the airport. The helicopter was heading directly towards the plane for a long time. The night was clear, the lights on the plane were visible, why didn't the helicopter ascend, descend, or turn? Why didn't the control tower give the helicopter any instructions on what to do, instead of just asking if they could see the plane? This is a bad situation that apparently needed to be prevented, Trump stated. 

As media previously reported, a possible cause of the crash was that the air traffic service did not give clear instructions to the pilots to change altitude and avoid the collision.