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Politics, I despise politics.
Everything in the news is politicized, or so it seems.
A horrible tragedy Wednesday night, a small commercial airliner collides with an Army helicopter, at night, both aircraft are destroyed. It appears that all the souls on board both aircraft are lost. Dead in the night in a fiery crash which ends in the cold waters of the Potomac.
Then the idiots (on both sides) start baying as to how this is some politician's fault.
Someone made a mistake, yes. But was it the air traffic controllers on the ground? Was it the people operating the two aircraft? I don't know, hopefully the NTSB will be able to determine that and at some point in the future institute some safeguard to prevent this particular scenario from happening again.
But you can't completely prevent mishaps. You just can't.
No matter how sophisticated the equipment, no matter how sophisticated the software controlling that equipment, and no matter how well-trained the aircrew, sometimes it just boils down to this ...
"Shit happens."
And when it does, people die, as in this case. Was this mishap preventable? Maybe, but as long as humans are in the equation things like this will occur.
People have lapses in judgement, people get distracted, people get tired, people miss small details, there are a thousand things which can go wrong. That we don't have more accidents like this is something to think about.
Better equipment? Better software? Better procedures? Sure, those might help. Remember though, people put all that together. People.
Folks, we're the common denominator, there is no "they."
Pray for those who were lost. Pray for those families who will be in mourning. Pray for the sanity and the well-being of the first responders. Pray that it doesn't happen again.
But for God's sake leave politics out of it.
I cannot believe this crap.
/rant ...
I am going to refrain from judgement, until we know what actually happened.
ReplyDeleteOne of the few.
DeleteThe Badger is wise.
DeleteIndeed.
DeleteI was the recipient of some highly critical political comments on a post regarding the crash. I said nothing about politics when posting so I became very irritated at the person who spewed TDS rhetoric. After my criticism she deleted all the comments. They had hijacked my post anyway so good riddance. It was a tragic accident that will likely place blame on multiple parties. And I doubt either administration will be named as a causal factor in the mishap report.
ReplyDeleteNo doubt there was more than one cause, there usually is.
Delete"All the holes in the Swiss cheese lined up."
DeleteGood analogy.
DeleteWell said. Not everything has to be about politics.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet here we are.
DeleteIt is about impossible to get away from politics today if you are connected to what's happening these days. Used to be you watched the evening news or the morning newspaper... With modern technology those days are gone and the stakes have gone up.
ReplyDeleteThe so-called "24 hour news cycle" ruined this country. IMHO
DeleteToo much emphasis on politics/agendas for way too long instead of having the families be center stage for their grieving.
ReplyDeleteExactly.
DeleteThere was an old Japanese saying that I still believe is the best course at the beginning: Fix the problem, not the blame. That dogleg approach to 33 with helicopter Route 1 blowing along UNDER
ReplyDeletereminds me of a figure 8 demolition derby course with loaded school busses.
DeleteA good saying, very apt.
DeleteThere were a number of things that went wrong that night.
DeleteIt was a congested area for air traffic with the no-fly zones all around DC. I suspect there were multiple mistakes made.
ReplyDeleteBingo.
DeleteMy heart aches for those family members. I don't care what color/creed/religion/sex/age/political leaning etc, etc they were, EVERYONE bleeds red, EVERYONE had plans/to do lists and other folks who loved them who are now devastated that their loved one is now gone. NO one wants to die in a fiery explosion, or in a freezing cold river.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing ANYONE from ANY governmental branch or agency should be saying right now is "We are so very sorry for your loss. We will get to the bottom of what/why/how this happened, and we will institute changes to hopefully prevent something like this from ever happening again. This is an all-hands-on-deck situation, and all needed resources are available."
That's it. That's enough.
As a country, and especially our political and news media folks need to learn a bit of patience. We do not need to learn everything instantly. Ted Turner did us no favors by beginning the 24 hour news cycle.
If it is true that DCA is the busiest airport in the country, ahead of LA and Newark and Atlanta...and if it is true that Congress has dithered around for YEARS about putting a limit on the number of flights into/out of that particular airport because it is convenient for THEM to have an airport only 10 minutes away from their desks...then maybe it is time for ALL of them, of ALL political parties to focus on what is TRULY important and instead of trying to find ways to sling more crap at each other, or stir the pot, or just poke the bear...MAYBE it is time for some sacrifice of their convenience and to do their DAMN JOB. Maybe THAT would be a thoughtful and refreshing way to honor the loss of those 67 lives.
Suz
Congress? Do their jobs? That would be nice. Term limits would help with that.
DeleteConcur on the news cycle.
Yup, not a political issue at this point. Might not be a political issue at all. Right now all we know for sure is that two aircraft ended up in the same space at the same time and people died.
ReplyDeleteThere is an investigation underway, and the investigators are professionals who will find out what really happened, and the likely multiple points at which it could have been prevented. Find all the points of failure and see if they can be eliminated or mitigated.
But, in man's defiance of the laws of physics, occasionally gravity will win.
Prayers for the victims.
Plenty of time to discuss politics when facts are known, not nonsensical charges by ignorant buffoons. We got enough of that in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
JB
+1
DeleteOur local So. KY news broadcast spent 10 minutes on this as a lead story. No one from the area was involved or died in the accident. It was just, "If it bleeds, It leads journalism" . Disgusting.
ReplyDeleteYeah, why do "journalists" do that?
DeleteThe major problem is:
ReplyDeleteas I understand it from information provided by (ugh) the MSM there were figure skaters: Russian (yes Americans as well, but...) and this provides the "political angle" placing President Trump an the unenviable position in regard the current geopolitical situation(s)
Disagree. The President made some untimely (perhaps stupid) comments at a news conference. Others chimed in with their equally untimely (perhaps stupid) comments and there you go. Politics. The MSM is stirring the pot, they are NOT reporting all the facts and they NEVER have.
DeleteThe major problem is 67 people died in a mid-air collision just outside the nation's capital. Poor procedures, tired/overworked/unqualified people involved? Take your pick. Whoever was on board the two aircraft plays no part. If the MSM is trying to sell that line of reasoning, then a pox on their houses.
Politics,like the weather, is a fact of life. A very good comment was made this morning by a general aviation pilot. https://shekel.blogspot.com/2025/01/no-tdsers-helicopter-jet-collision-is.html.
ReplyDeleteA well-reasoned, thoughtful commentary on the accident. If you've read Aaron for any length of time, you know he doesn't post nonsense. A man worth listening to.
DeleteBeen through this more times than I can count. So, ain't gonna say anything other than a prayer for the dead and their families. Oh and...Feces occurs!
ReplyDeletejuvat
Amen.
DeleteI have flown into Washington several times and the approach is like herding cats. In the daytime. At night, even if there is less traffic, ATC is what the pilots are generally trusting for separation. It looks like there was an understaffed shift and some airmanship issues. I feel betrayed by the government and so sad for our military
ReplyDeleteI posted th8s on “Shekel” as well.
You're probably right, Dave. It looks that way at this point in time.
DeleteI saw elsewhere that someone famous wrote, "Stop, Just Stop!" I think it was the head of Flight Ops at NASA after Apollo 1. The takeaway was with me my entire working life and after and that was that it was really up to me to see and know when we/they were standing into danger and shout Stop it! That usually worked like a charm and certainly when it was people directly working for me but it seems to have lost either its magic or its appeal of late (last 26 years or so) and people just seem to slide into one avoidable disaster after another because nobody feels empowered to shout out when they see it going sideways. ..... except the lunies who scream about global warming.
ReplyDeleteI just watched an analysis of the intercept and it is fairly mindblowing that this total wrongness had become routine. That's the killer. It became routine to operate aircraft in controlled airspace without control.
And disaster followed ...
DeleteAnd sometimes mistakes are made much earlier. The Apollo cryo O2 tank heaters had 28V thermostats. At some point, the heater voltage was increased substantially, but the 28V thermostat spec were never caught. All the early Apollos flew with them. But Apollo 13 did a ground heater purge to empty the O2 tanks that likely fused the thermostats closed and melted insulation off the in-tank wiring.
DeleteThey violated their own process as well.
DeletePrayers for the victims and their families and friends; and for the investigators. For the blame casters ... I walk away shaking my head.
ReplyDeleteAmen.
Delete