What is "flight route 4"?
Specifically the Baltimore-Washington route chart was relevant for these flights: https://aeronav.faa.gov/visual/10-31-2024/PDFs/Balt-Wash_Hel...
If you find the DCA airport on that chart, you’ll find routes 1 and 4 which roughly correspond to the helicopter’s flight path.
Helicopter was on Helicopter Route 4, per the map, apparently on course.
Aircraft was on approach to Runway 33, apparently on course.
That helicopter route crosses the approach to runway 33.
That's controlled airspace. How did they both have clearance to be there?
We'll know more tomorrow as all the audio and radar recordings are examined.
DCA TWR: PAT25, traffic just south of the Woodrow Bridge, a CRJ, it's 1200 feet setting up for runway 33.
PAT25: PAT25 has the traffic in sight, request visual separation.
DCA TWR: Visual separation approved.
Audio of MID-AIR CRASH into Potomac River: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiOybe-NJHk
https://www.reddit.com/r/aviation/comments/1idba8i/comment/m...
A helicopter instructor suggests that possibly the helicopter pilots, who were told to go behind an aircraft that was landing, were looking at the previous aircraft that was landing.[1] That's just speculation at this point.
[1] https://philip.greenspun.com/blog/2025/01/29/reagan-national...