DCA Tragedy Highlights Need for Improved Cockpit Awareness
By Angelo Collins
VFS Executive Director
From Vertiflite, March /April 2025
As my children grow older, their fascination with the Star Wars universe deepens. Lightsabers, TIE fighters and droids dominate our daily conversations and playtime. They may not yet understand Roman numerals or why the first movie starts at Episode IV, but they instinctively recognize greatness when it’s presented in the film. Luke Skywalker turning off his targeting system and trusting the Force, a sixth sense that augments his abilities, captivates them. With his X-wing, he overcomes impossible odds to destroy the Death Star. Alright, kids, time for bed.
After a long day of fatherhood and preparations for our Transformative Vertical Flight (TVF) 2025 meeting, I checked the news only to be met with tragedy. Less than five miles away, the first fatal US airline crash in 16 years. A US Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter collided with American Airlines Flight 5342, a Bombardier CRJ700 airliner, over the Potomac River by Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).
The full details will take time to emerge, but we know both sets of pilots were flying along adjacent corridors at night; the Army pilots were flying on night-vision goggles in an environment filled with light clutter. My mind immediately turned to a paper I coauthored with Dr. Missy Cummings, “Making the Business Case for Increased VTOL Autonomy in Degraded Visual Environments,” published in 2012 through the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI). This work was inspired by the Autonomous Aerial Cargo Utility System (AACUS) program I was supporting at the time.
Funded by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), AACUS aimed to develop advanced autonomous cargo delivery for VTOL aircraft, using uncrewed testbeds like the Lockheed Martin/ Kaman K-MAX and Aurora Flight Sciences/Boeing Little Bird. These systems leveraged active and passive sensing, along with onboard computing, to autonomously identify landing sites, follow waypoints and execute landings — all without human input. A fun fact — the AACUS Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) was written by Dr. Andy Baker, a graduate of the Georgia Tech Vertical Lift Research Center of Excellence (VLRCOE) and the originator of today’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Speed and Runway Independent Technologies (SPRINT) high-speed VTOL program.
Building on AACUS, I had the privilege of helping launch the DARPA Aircrew Labor In-cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) program.Similar in vision, ALIAS sought to incorporate activeand passive sensingwith onboard computingto reduce,augment or eveneliminate crew rolesin legacy VTOL and fixed-wing aircraft. Launched in 2014, ALIAS remains an active DARPA program, with parallel investments from the Army to integrate these capabilities into their Black Hawk fleet.
The core theme behind AACUS, ALIAS and other related efforts is simple: augment pilots and crews by reducing their workload, offloading tedious, repetitive and time-sensitive tasks, and allowing them to focus on mission-critical decision making. While the investigation into the Potomac collision continues, some things are already clear. A breakdown in communication and a loss of situational awareness led to catastrophe. Humans, by nature, have perceptual limitations, especially at night, flying through the heart of a metropolitan area on goggles. No amount of training can fully overcome these physical constraints.
But one can hope. Maybe the Force isn’t just a figment of George Lucas’ imagination. Capabilities like ALIAS have the potential to transform helicopter pilots into real-world Jedi, giving them a Force-like ability to detect impending collisions and other threats before disaster strikes.
During the VFS Handling Qualities meeting in January, Army Program Executive Officer (PEO) Aviation Brig. Gen. David Phillips emphasized the Army’s commitment to embracing ALIAS and similar technologies. As the Army continues working with Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, to mature ALIAS capabilities within the Black Hawk fleet, now is the time for action. Investment in this space has never been more critical.
VFS will remain a strong advocate for vertical flight research and development, ensuring that the future of aviation is not just smarter but safer.
This commentary is also available as a pdf.
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Posted: 2025-02-27