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Pilots describe tight airspace around Washington airport

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Planes have to avoid airspace around White House, Pentagon

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Army official questions military training near airports

By Allison Lampert and Rajesh Kumar Singh

Jan 30 (Reuters) - U.S. commercial pilot Rick Redfern

was preparing to land at Reagan Washington National Airport a

decade ago when he spotted a Coast Guard helicopter hovering

about 50 feet off the Potomac River. Air traffic control

promptly warned the helicopter pilot to stay clear, averting a

potential disaster.

A collision on Wednesday night between a Black Hawk military

helicopter and an American Eagle CRJ 700 jet, which killed more

than 60 people, has stirred haunting memories for Redfern and

other pilots who have faced challenges landing at Washington

airport.

Planes approaching the airport must navigate a precise and

narrow flight path to avoid restricted airspace around the

nearby White House and Pentagon.

"That turn from the eastern side along the river to turn

into runway 33 is very, very tight," said Redfern, referring to

the same airstrip the American Eagle jet was heading towards

before colliding with the U.S. military helicopter.

It is unclear what caused the crash, which is now under

investigation by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board

and the U.S. Army. Most air crashes typically result from

multiple contributing factors.

Seven U.S. pilots told Reuters the landing at Reagan is

unique due to congested space, along with an inability to

communicate directly with military aircraft, which operate on

different radio frequencies. The airport also has shorter

runways, including runway 33, which is generally reserved for

smaller aircraft, one of the seven aviators said.

For pilots, it means traversing narrow airspace since planes

can't cross the eastern shoreline of the Potomac River when

approaching the airport that is also used regularly by the

military for training, the pilots said.

"Is DCA a congested airspace? Yes, hands down no doubt about

it," said Dennis Tajer, a spokesperson for the Allied Pilots

Association that represents American Airlines ( AAL ) mainline

pilots.

"It's in a very tight airspace because there are restricted

areas all around the airport."

While constrained airspace makes the approach more

challenging for pilots, aviation safety experts have not raised

widespread concerns about the space constraints.

"It's a challenging airport to fly into because of all the

restricted airspace," said aviation safety and crash

investigation expert Anthony Brickhouse.

"But we have commercial flights and military flights and all

types of flights operating out of Reagan National every day."

A PREVENTABLE TRAGEDY?

A United Airlines pilot who has flown in and out of

Washington for 20 years described it as one of the most

challenging airspaces due to a combination of short runways,

heavy traffic, and strict security restrictions.

The pilot emphasized the need to be extra alert and

well-rested when flying into Washington.

"You definitely are bringing your A-game when you fly in and

out of Reagan," added former longtime commercial airline pilot

Kathleen Bangs.

Brickhouse noted that investigators will examine visual

cues, visibility conditions at the airport, and any interactions

between the two aircraft.

The U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter involved in the

collision was on a training flight.

In the moments before the crash, an air traffic controller

can be heard on recordings asking the helicopter to pass behind

the jet.

"They'll be studying what the helicopter pilots and

commercial pilots could have seen and any communication between

the two aircraft," Brickhouse said.

Commercial aircraft use Very High Frequency (VHF) radios to

communicate, while military aircraft operate on Ultra High

Frequency (UHF) channels, making direct communication between

them difficult. However, the control tower can communicate with

both frequencies.

Army Secretary nominee Daniel Driscoll said during a Senate

hearing on Thursday that the incident may prompt the military to

reconsider conducting training operations near the busy

Washington, D.C., airspace.

"This seems to be preventable," Driscoll said. "I think we

might need to look at where is an appropriate time to take

training risk, and it may not be near an airport like Reagan."