Airports near water pose unique challenges, aviation expert explains

VICTIMS HAVE BEEN RECOVERED FROM THE WATER. SO TRAGIC. JOINING US LIVE IS AVIATION EXPERT AND FORMER HEAD OF MASSPORT, TOM CANTON. TOM, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. YOU’VE YOU’VE MANAGED AN AIRPORT BY THE WATER. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST REACTION TO THIS DISASTER? WELL, IT’S THE AIRPORT OPERATOR’S WORST NIGHTMARE. WHEN SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPENS, IT’S VERY TRAGIC. BUT IT REMINDED ME OF THE DAYS OF RUNNING LOGAN AND LOGAN BEING SURROUNDED BY WATER. AND THE DRILLS WE DID PRACTICING IN THE EVENT WE LOST, WE IN THE EVENT WE HAVE A LOST AN AIRCRAFT IN THE WATER. SO MY HEART WAS WITH THE VICTIMS AND THE RESCUERS AND FIRST RESPONDERS. LAST EVENING AS I WATCHED THIS UNFOLD, A VERY DIFFICULT CONDITIONS SEARCHING IN THE WATER AT NIGHT FOR ANY HOPE OF FINDING ANY SURVIVORS OF THIS MID-AIR COLLISION. YEAH. AND TOM, WHAT ARE SOME OF THOSE UNIQUE CHALLENGES WITH AN AIRPORT LIKE LOGAN OR LIKE DCA THAT SITS RIGHT THERE ON THE WATER? I KNOW YOU MENTIONED SOME OF THE EMERGENCY DRILLS YOU USED TO DO WHEN YOU WERE AT MASSPORT. WHAT ELSE CAN BE DONE FOR A SITUATION LIKE THIS? WELL, IT’S I MEAN, IT’S YOU JUST HAVE TO KEEP PRACTICING BECAUSE YOU NEED WATERBORNE ASSETS LIKE THIS. WE INVOLVE THE US NAVY, US COAST GUARD, STATE POLICE, LOGAN AIRPORT, FIRST RESPONDERS, BOSTON CITY, BOSTON POLICE, BOSTON FIRE, ANYBODY? ENVIRONMENTAL POLICE. YOU WANT TO COORDINATE THOSE WATERBORNE ASSETS TO GET THERE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE, TO GET IN THE WATER AND TO TRY TO RESCUE IN THE FIRST MOMENTS. I MEAN, THE WATER TEMPERATURES, OBVIOUSLY, AT THIS TIME OF YEAR ARE VERY, VERY COLD. SURVIVAL IS YOU HAVE TO GET THE PEOPLE WITHIN MINUTES, IF NOT SECONDS, IF YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE ANY HOPE OF SURVIVAL. SO THEY HAVE TO MAP THE AREA THEY’RE SEARCHING AND DO THE BEST THEY CAN AS QUICKLY AS THEY CAN. AND TOM, WE’RE JUST OVER NINE HOURS SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THIS INCIDENT, AND OFFICIALS ON THE GROUND SAYING THIS IS STILL JUST A RESCUE MISSION AT THIS POINT. THEY’RE STILL CONSIDERING IT. THAT BUT, YOU KNOW, LOOKING FORWARD DOWN THE LINE, THE TECHNOLOGY INVOLVED TODAY IN AIRLINE ACTIVITY, DO YOU WONDER TO YOURSELF HOW THIS COULD HAVE EVER HAPPENED? ABSOLUTELY. I MEAN, IT’S BEEN DECADES SINCE THIS COUNTRY HAS EXPERIENCED A MAJOR AVIATION ACCIDENT, LET ALONE A MID-AIR COLLISION. I THINK THE LAST MID-AIR COLLISION I CAN RECALL OF A COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT IN THE US GOES BACK TO THE 1970S. SO IT’S VERY, VERY RARE. AND AS YOU SAY, THE TECHNOLOGY TODAY ALMOST MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR IT TO OCCUR. BUT SOMETHING WENT WRONG. OBVIOUSLY THESE AIRCRAFT LOST SEPARATION OR THE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS LOST SEPARATION WITH THE HELICOPTER AND THE COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT. AND UNFORTUNATELY, AT THE ALTITUDE, THE COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT WAS AT. THE TECHNOLOGY ON BOARD, CALLED THE COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEM, IS NOT VERY GOOD. IT DOESN’T WORK AT LOW ALTITUDES. IT WORKS AT HIGHER ALTITUDES WHERE IT GIVES THE INSTRUCTION OF AN AIRCRAFT TO CLIMB OR DESCEND IF IT SEES AN IMPENDING COLLISION, AND THAT OBVIOUSLY WAS NOT ABLE TO BE ON AT THIS TIME BECAUSE THEY WERE A LOW ALTITUDE, THEY WERE LESS THAN 400FT ON A SHORT FINAL. SO YOU’RE REALLY RELYING ON AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL RADAR TECHNOLOGY AND COCKPIT AVOIDANCE. TOM, TO YOUR KNOWLEDGE, DO THE BLACK HAWK HELICOPTERS HAVE THAT SAME TYPE OF CRASH DETECTION TECHNOLOGY? I’M NOT AWARE OF WHETHER OR NOT THE MILITARY CARRIES THAT TECHNOLOGY OR NOT. ALL RIGHT, TOM KITTEN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US THIS MORNING. CERTAINLY A LOT OF QUESTIONS. WE’

An urgent search and rescue mission is underway on the Potomac River after an American Airlines flight collided with an Army helicopter in Washington, D.C.The passenger jet was carrying 64 people and approaching Ronald Reagan National Airport when the crash happened. Military authorities said the Black Hawk was on a training mission with three soldiers on board. Both aircraft fell into the river, and investigators said several victims have been recovered from the water.Tom Kinton, an aviation expert and former head of the Massachusetts Port Authority, described the unique challenges an airport on the water poses to rescue crews. "It’s the airport operator’s worst nightmare when something like this happens. It is very tragic, but it reminded me of the days of running Logan and Logan being surrounded by water and the drills we did practicing in the event we ever lost an aircraft in the water," Kinton said. Kinton stressed with the frigid water temperatures and dark conditions, it's imperative that "water-borne assets are brought in." "We involved the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, state police, Logan Airport first responders, Boston police, Boston fire, environmental police. You want to coordinate those water-borne assets to get there as quickly as possible to get in the water and try to rescue within the first moments," he said. "They have to map the area they are searching and do the best they can as quickly as they can." Kinton said it has been decades since the country experienced a major aviation accident of this magnitude."It’s very, very rare, and the technology today almost makes it impossible to occur, but something went wrong, obviously. These aircraft lost separation or the air traffic controllers lost separation with the helicopter and the commercial aircraft, and unfortunately, with the altitude the commercial aircraft was at, the technology on board called the Collision Avoidance System is not very good. It doesn’t work at low altitudes. It works at higher altitudes," Kinton said.

BOSTON —

An urgent search and rescue mission is underway on the Potomac River after an American Airlines flight collided with an Army helicopter in Washington, D.C.

The passenger jet was carrying 64 people and approaching Ronald Reagan National Airport when the crash happened. Military authorities said the Black Hawk was on a training mission with three soldiers on board.

Both aircraft fell into the river, and investigators said several victims have been recovered from the water.

Tom Kinton, an aviation expert and former head of the Massachusetts Port Authority, described the unique challenges an airport on the water poses to rescue crews.

"It’s the airport operator’s worst nightmare when something like this happens. It is very tragic, but it reminded me of the days of running Logan and Logan being surrounded by water and the drills we did practicing in the event we ever lost an aircraft in the water," Kinton said.

Kinton stressed with the frigid water temperatures and dark conditions, it's imperative that "water-borne assets are brought in."

"We involved the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, state police, Logan Airport first responders, Boston police, Boston fire, environmental police. You want to coordinate those water-borne assets to get there as quickly as possible to get in the water and try to rescue within the first moments," he said. "They have to map the area they are searching and do the best they can as quickly as they can."

Kinton said it has been decades since the country experienced a major aviation accident of this magnitude.

"It’s very, very rare, and the technology today almost makes it impossible to occur, but something went wrong, obviously. These aircraft lost separation or the air traffic controllers lost separation with the helicopter and the commercial aircraft, and unfortunately, with the altitude the commercial aircraft was at, the technology on board called the Collision Avoidance System is not very good. It doesn’t work at low altitudes. It works at higher altitudes," Kinton said.