[markoman]

Yes, the helo pilot accepted responsibility for tracking the 'CRJ' traffic via the visual separation callout, but unfortunately identifying AA 5342 in this way is not a clear or unique way to do so. They are a common plane type and come in several sizes/configurations.

That last second call from ATC should have been more than a confirmation that they had the traffic in sight. They were less than 1000ft apart in that moment. It should have been to tell them that the Collision Avoidance ('CA') system was alerting and that they had to "pull up". Even if 'pull up' was all that was said, it would have been better than asking for a confirmation of visual separation.

[jfengel]

I caught a podcast the other day, telling the story of a plane crash that hinged on the ambiguity of what the word "clear" meant. One of the fixes was to alter the language, so that they'd only use the word "clear" when things actually were clear. They wouldn't say things like "proceed when it's clear", just in case they mis-heard.

https://timharford.com/2025/01/cautionary-tales-frozen-in-a-...

I'm probably not describing it very accurately, but that's the gist. And it sounds as if a similar error occurred here. I'm a little surprised that such ambiguities would still exist after all this time.