Long time helicopter pilot here (4,000 hours) - I can assure you this was absolutely operator error on both parts. Modern helicopters are equipped with all sorts of sensors for both weather and unnatural objects. That little screen right below the "co-pilot" woman's chin (clearly not a co-pilot but that term just branched from planes) is actually the display for this type of proximity info.

So first case - that should've caught it, but the pilot was being absentminded and checking out the views.

Second, the flight plans for both of these crafts could not possibly have both vehicles in that place at that time, which is the other reason I can tell that this is operator error.

TL;DR, I'm not a heli pilot and I just made all this up

Fucking sea world at it again

Exactly this.

reddit moment