How planes, military aircraft work to avoid preventable collisions – National [Video]

More than 40 bodies have been pulled from the Potomac River near Washington, D.C., after Wednesday’s fatal collision that saw an Army helicopter and American Airlines flight collide, killing 67 people aboard the two aircraft.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said both aircraft had been flying standard flight patterns when the incident occurred, and there had been no breakdown in communication.

Here’s a look at how civilian and military aircraft work to avoid accidents like Wednesday’s tragic crash.

Aviation experts who spoke with Global News stressed neither type of aircraft typically communicate with one another directly.

“That would create some mayhem in the system,” said Brian Alexander, a former military aircraft pilot and aviation accident lawyer with Kreindler LLP.

“So the communications go through air traffic control. Ideally, the aircraft operating in the same airspace will be on the same frequency and controlled by the same controller. However, that rule is not always the case.”

Commercial aircraft use very high frequency …