7 seconds. That’s a fairly long time. So in your opinion IF the controller’s attention had been focused on one station instead of two, could they have prevented this accident by directing the chopper to change elevation? Multiple former pilots are absolving the plane’s pilot but questioning the controller’s instruction even though it appears obvious the chopper wasn’t where it should have been.
People are questioning why we fly missions along that river. After walking around the Whitehouse perimeter yesterday and then to the Capitol building yesterday, I can see why we keep air assets in close proximity and patrol that river with them. That river especially at high tide, provides rapid access to the Whitehouse and multiple key buildings for a drone that could take off from a pleasure craft. Flight time from the Potomac to the White House would be a few seconds.