Originally Posted by
ozsmac
I found the summary of day 1 of the hearings on the NTSB Newstalk podcast to be quite insightful. The discussions around altimeters, SOPs and charts was insightful (overblown by a few of the folks asking the questions).
https://www.aviationnewstalknetwork....ntsb-news-talk
A must read/listen . The holes in the cheese layers were quite big
just a few :
-UH60-L Heli altimeters accuracy .80 -130 ft systemic error due position of the static sensors affected by rotor blades in cruise
-80 ft error deemed within acceptable tolerance by Army pilots
-flying at 300ft targeting 200ft is "acceptable" by the Army
-200ft restriction on the chart is a only a "recommended target" in VFR not a hard restriction i unless instructed by ATC ..
-Lack of regulatory oversight by FAA despite many previous incidents .
-FAA (bureaucratic) refusal to put a 'Hot spot" symbol on routes crossings.
-Lack of ADS-B compliance on Army helis, due maintenance documentation errors during installation
-lack of experience of heli pilots on specific areas due frequent rotation of staff and lack of training hours in general.
-Lack of continuity in of DCA ATC operations supervision , 10 managers in 12 years and 5 in last 5 years.
In fact on some of the Reason's layers there were more holes than cheese.