When planes fall...

"When planes fall, they are not supposed to. Accidents are not supposed to happen. Our skies should be safe and regulated by our air traffic control system. Whose fault was the crash last night? To be determined." 

It is hard to believe it has happened again. A plane crash on the Potomac River, as a plane was coming in for a landing at Reagan Airport. I have flown into and out of Reagan (National) hundreds of times. I have landed in snow, thunderstorms, fog, as well as beautiful weather. 

Why did I travel to Washington so much? When I was a defense contractor, that is where the customer usually was. I flew there in the 70's when I worked at Sperry Univac. I flew there in the 80's when I worked for Control Data. And I flew there in the 90's when I worked for United Defense. Plus, I flew there from time to time when I was in the Naval Reserve. 

It is a sketchy airport to fly into and out of. Most experienced travelers will tell you that. However, at his presser this morning, the newly minted Transportation Secretary (Sean Duffy) said when you fly in this country, you should expect to fly safely and arrive safely at your destination. That did not happen last night. A catastrophic plane collision happened, between a Black Hawk chopper (Army) and a passenger jet. All were lost. 

One of my more memorable trips to Washington DC was in 1982, right after the Air Florida crash. As we were coming in for a landing, crews were still pulling parts of the downed jet out of the Potomac. It was an eerie sight to say the least. Many people died, just trying to take off in bad weather and making it to the warmer skies of Florida. The plane never made altitude, hit a bridge over the Potomac, and crash landed in those murky waters. It was horrible. And maybe preventable.

When planes fall, they are not supposed to. Accidents are not supposed to happen. Our skies should be safe and regulated by our air traffic control system. Whose fault was the crash last night? To be determined. It will be a baptism by fire for Pete Hegseth at Defense and Sean Duffy at Transportation. Both barely had a chance to sit down at their new desks, and then this happened. And the families, those grieving families. Horrible. 

We will clean this up. We will find the victims, bury them, and then honor them. But we must learn from this accident. This must never happen again. Ever. A pilot once told me, when you fly a passenger jet, you have zero margin for error. That means the pilots, the mechanics, the air traffic controllers - everybody. Last night, the zero margin for error somehow failed.