Chase

Aspiring commercial astronaut, currently Gulfstream pilot. My dream is to be part of the industry that makes spaceflight as ubiquitous as airline travel.

[Chase @lipovacc]

Starlink launch from 43,000 ft near El Paso this evening.

[Rocket Lab @RocketLab]

Nine years ago today, we launched Electron for the first time.

Later this year, Electron is expected to reach 100 launches, likely making it the fastest privately developed orbital rocket to hit that milestone.

From “It’s a test” to one of the world’s highest cadence launch vehicles in under a decade.

Here's a little walk down memory lane from that first historic launch.

[Chase @lipovacc]

@flightradar24 Any idea what happened to close TEB airport?

[Matt Shumer @mattshumer_]

https://t.co/ivXRKXJvQg

[Chase @lipovacc]

@Rainmaker1973 Freelancer

[Chase @lipovacc]

@vibrantdad My Samsung dryer stopped making heat after 3 years. No error codes. Took two days and $98 to fix it myself.

[Chase @lipovacc]

@vibrantdad https://t.co/ov8GaxjTVZ - everything you need to keep it going for at least 10 years

[Scout Motors @Scout_Motors]

The fundamentals haven’t changed—just the details.

We’re building the Terra to not only put in a good day's work, but to get out and enjoy the dirt. That’s what we mean by an “8-day-a-week” truck.

The way it’s always been and just the way we like it.

#ScoutMotors #ANewScoutEra

[Chase @lipovacc]

So @vast hired a Lead Astronaut (congrats @Astro_Feustel), does this mean they will hire other astronauts? 👀

Sign me up!

[Chase @lipovacc]

@theplanekate It’s especially frustrating considering they’re using a device connected to the internet to leave the comment. Like, you could just open a new tab…? Double check before you just blabber something off??

[Eric Feigl-Ding @DrEricDing]

This was posted yesterday morning before the DCA crash. Prescient.

[Chase @lipovacc]

If you’re wondering how an accident like this can happen in aviation, please spend a little time today and learn something about it: https://t.co/wuWDCcKvVe

[Mark McEathron @Mark_McEathron]

I was a Blackhawk helicopter crew chief in the Army.

I was even a Flight Instructor. This means that I trained Crew Chiefs and ensured that they completed all training annually to maintain their flight ratings.

One massive responsibility we had was to be the eyes for the pilots. We handled airspace obstacle avoidance and communicated potential risks to the pilots.

Quite often we would train as a flight of 2 or 3 birds flying in formation.

It was my job to have my head out the window and tell the pilots that the aircraft behind us was "staggered right at 3 discs". (We measured close distances in terms of the diameter of our rotor discs).

I can tell you after doing this for hundreds of hours, even when you know EXACTLY where a Blackhawk is, and you have night vision goggles on, it is EXTREMELY hard to SEE the aircraft.

These birds are designed to be hard to see at night.

The red and green lights on the side get lost in the lights of the city below. The only "lights" on top of the aircraft are called "slime lights" because they are a very very very dim green.

Incredibly difficult to see.

If you are above the helicopter, even if it has it flood light or spot light (2 different lights) on, underneath it, it is still hard to see the bird because all of that illumination is below the airframe.

Another thing people should know is just how busy things can get on the aircraft.

Pilots are talking to each other about what they are observing on the instrument panels. This means neither are looking outside the aircraft.

The crew chief might be conducting a fuel check, where we would also be looking up into the cockpit at the fuel gages and the clock.

This CAN lead to moments where all 3 people on the aircraft are all looking inside the aircraft.

It's not supposed to happen that way. We are supposed to announce when we are "coming inside" or are "back outside" the aircraft. But that doesn't always happen.

Also, in cities like DC, the radio traffic is constant and can make it hard to filter out what is important for you to listen to.

Checking instruments, doing math, reading checklists, and listening to multiple radios all at the same time is HARD. Mistakes happen.

Anyone out there telling you that they find the aircraft collision to be suspect, have NEVER been in a flight crew and they have ZERO idea what they are talking about.

Ignore them all. Better yet, mock the hell out of them.

999 times out of 1000 aircraft incidents always come down to a series of pilot and crew errors.

Humans are involved. They aren't perfect.

Tonight, my heart and mind is with the families of those involved in this tragic event.

I won't join the chorus of idiots making speculations.

[Eric Berger @SciGuySpace]

WTF.

https://t.co/rLzr01uJKZ

[Chase @lipovacc]

Alright, that’s enough internet for today.

[Chase @lipovacc]

@Greg_StOnge @DJSnM Respectfully, no.

[Chase @lipovacc]

@caldodge @DJSnM SAN has a tremendous amount of alternative options for crossing the airspace. DCA on the other hand does not, and this route is used routinely by military crews who are familiar with the airport. Very unfortunate the Swiss cheese holes lined up here.

[Chase @lipovacc]

@Real_Bar1 @DJSnM It’s unlikely one position holds all the fault. ATC is unfortunately very overworked at DCA, so it’s possible after the Blackhawk crew confirmed their instructions the controller moved their attention elsewhere, but that doesn’t imply fault.

[Chase @lipovacc]

@TAGreene7574 @DJSnM It usual is, when using Runway 1. To ease traffic congestion pilots are usually given the option to change runways late in the approach to Runway 33, as happened here. It’s a complicated last minute procedure but very common at DCA.

[Chase @lipovacc]

@notthefakeluke1 @RickHillswfl @DJSnM It’s likely neither aircraft was referencing the glideslope. The approach to Runway 33 is usually done as a visual circling maneuver. The airspace is very complicated, but these Blackhawks move through it all day.